A New Life
by horseandbooklover
Summary: Previously written by lacym3. Louisiana, 1943, Bella is in an abusive marriage. When she is discovered nearly dead Jasper changes her, will they help one another heal? Or are the both too scarred? Scenes of domestic violence, Lemons in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**Bonita, Louisiana – Morehouse Parish**

**1943**

_Merde, _it's six oh three p.m. and I'm running late. I can feel the sweat trickle between my breasts as I quickly stir the _roux_ bubbling on the stove. I rush across the kitchen to where my cutting board is set up and I begin chopping vegetables as fast as I can. Carrots, celery, potatoes, just keep concentrating; I glance at the clock again, six oh six. Robert will be home at six thirty, if his dinner is not on the table when he walks through the door…carrots, celery, potatoes.

"Momma! Momma! I got the plates!" I hear my daughter squeal. I look up to see her rushing across the room with a proud smile on her face when she trips on her own feet, sending the stack of plates crashing to the floor. _Merde, _I'm going to pay for that later. I look from the floor to Abigail's face, her chin trembling, trying to fight tears. "Don't move, _bebe_, you don't want to cut your feet."

I step gingerly around the broken pieces of glass, and reach my arms out for her. "_Viens ici ma 'tite fille, _don't cry," I whisper, lifting her in my arms and setting her at the table. Moving quickly, I turn off the stove so dinner doesn't burn, and then get the broom and dustpan from the cupboard to clean up the mess.

Dumping the last of the broken dishes in the trash, I get to work setting the table, setting out bowls, spoons, glasses of milk for Abigail and my self, and a beer for Robert. I heard the screen door open and snap shut just as I'm ladling stew into bowls.

"Isabella, I'm home," he calls on his way to the kitchen. I look up as he swings the door open. Standing at 6'3" Robert is a very intimidating man, with straight black hair that often tumbles down into his dark brown eyes. His nose is straight and proud, and he's rather handsome with his strong jaw line, angled cheek bones, and dark tanned skin that clashed with white teeth when he smiles. Many women pine after him, and hope to get into his bed, swooning from his roughish charm. I knew better.

"Dinner smells good, Isabella," he said, going to wash his hands in the sink. "Thank you," I murmured, sitting beside our daughter. "And how is _ma petite fleur_?" he asks Abigail.

"I'm okay," she answered.

"What's wrong with my girls today?"

"She's upset because I dropped a stack of plates right before you got home, and she almost cut her feet," I lied, covering for my daughter.

I saw his shoulders stiffen, before he turned to the table, glaring at me with angry eyes. "Damn it Isabella! What the hell is the matter with you?" he yelled, before sitting at the table muttering as he dug into his food. "_Bon a rien, tu, 'tit souris"_

I ate quietly, eyes on my food, and endured his muttering. It wasn't anything I wasn't used to.

When we were finished eating, I lifted Abigail out of her seat, "Come on _bebe _lets get you a bath."

I filled the claw-footed bathtub with warm water and bubbles before setting her down in the middle. "I love bubbles Momma!" she giggled. I merely smiled at my daughter as she played and splashed. The smile faded from my face as I thought of what likely awaited me downstairs.

"Are you going to be okay Momma?" my daughter asked quietly. I snapped out of my daze, "Of course _'tite belle_, now lean your head back so I can wash your hair." She immediately complied and I sat about washing her long black hair. It was the only thing she inherited from her father.

After her hair was rinsed, I lifted her out of the bathtub and wrapped her in a towel, carrying her to her bedroom down the hall. I sat her on her bed, and went to the chest of drawers, removing a long nightgown. After drying her off, I slipped it over her head, and pulled back the covers.

She smiled up at me as she snuggled in, "Good night, Momma," she whispered.

"Good night _cher_," I whispered back, rubbing our noses together.

I made sure her bedroom door was closed, before heading back downstairs to the kitchen to clean up dinner.

I cleared the table, scraping the remnants of dinner into the trash, then dumping the dishes into the scalding water in the sink. I scrubbed them quickly, setting them out on the drying board, then turned to wipe down the counters.

I heard him push the kitchen door open and lean against the jam watching me.

"Isabella, _ma 'tite chatte_," he said calmly.

I immediately stiffen, most would be frightened by screaming and yelling, but it's that voice that haunts my dreams. I hear his boots scuff against the floor as he walks toward me, leaning down to whisper in my ear, "Come on, _mon coeur_, turn around."

I slowly turn to face him, and he's standing so close that our fronts touch, my chest pressed against his stomach.

"When will you learn Isabella?" he said in that voice, "What do I have to do _especes do tete dure_?"

"Please, I'm sorry," I pleaded.

Even though I knew it was coming, I was still caught off-guard when the back of his hand connected with my left cheek, knocking me to the floor. He stood over me breathing hard, his arms hanging at his sides as I lay there clutching my cheek.

"Get the rest of this mess cleaned up then come upstairs to bed," he muttered turning around, and going back through the door. I heard his feet on the stairs, and our bedroom door opening and closing.

My breath coming in short gasps, I picked my self up off the floor and got some ice from the freezer, wrapping it in a dish towel, and pressed it against my face to keep down the swelling.

After a few minutes I finished the kitchen, and headed slowly up the stairs.

I opened the door quietly, stepping inside, and pushed it shut behind me. I kept my eyes averted from the bed as I slowly undressed.

"Come here, _cher_," Robert said once I was naked.

I walked toward the bed like a prisoner to the gallows. Once I was close enough Robert grabbed me around the waist, pulling me roughly onto the bed underneath him. He ducked his head to kiss the scar above my left breast, lower to kiss the one on my stomach, then kissing the new wound on my cheek.

"I don't know why you make me do these things, _cher_," he murmured in my ear, "when will you learn to be more careful?"

I squeezed my eyes shut and turned my head to the side as he entered me roughly.

"When will you learn that you are _mine_?" he grunted out between thrusts. I kept my eyes shut tight, and prayed for the blackness to overtake me.

**Jasper's P.O.V.**

"Why in the hell are we moving to Louisiana?" Edward asked for the tenth time.

"To help Jasper adjust, he's used to the South, and we want to make his transition to our life style as easy as possible," Carlisle replied, calmly.

"I think it will be interesting," Esme said.

"Whatever," Edward mumbled, turning to look out the window of the train.

I had asked Carlisle to move to Louisiana a month ago, giving the excuse he just spouted out to Edward. In all reality I have no idea why I want to move there, and to the

Morehouse Parish, specifically. I just had this pull, it felt like a rope was tied around my chest and it was tugging me forward, and the closer we got the tugging lightened gradually.

Alice knew my secret of course, and we were both struggling to block our thoughts from Edward, who had taken to glaring at us suspiciously.

I heard the squeal of the brakes as the train slowed to a stop. Gathering our luggage, we stepped off the train into the warm night air, and the tugging was almost completely non-existent.

We had arrived.

**A/N: **Well, there's the first chapter, review and let me know what you think.

Glossary of Cajun French:

_Merde- _shit

_bebe- _baby

_viens ici- _come here

_ma 'tite fille- _my little girl

_ma petite fleur- _my little flower

_bon a rien, tu, 'tit souris- _good for nothing, you, little mouse

'_tite belle- _little sweetheart

_cher- _term of endearment

_ma 'tite chatte- _my little cat

_mon coeur- _my heart

_especes de tete dure- _you hard headed thing


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**One Week Later**

It was a muggy, cloudy, humid day in Bonita. I was standing in the kitchen, staring through the window above the sink, out at the bayou, a mug of thick, rich coffee clutched in my hand. An old _pirogue _went by with two fishermen out for the morning catch. A heron stood watching them in the reeds on the far bank against a backdrop of orange Virginia creeper and coffee weed. I glanced at the thermometer hanging outside the window, 92 degrees.

"Momma!"

A smile curves my lips when I hear the sweet sound of my daughters voice. Taking one final sip of the strong brew, I set it on the side board, then turn around, crouching low, my arms open wide for her to jump into.

"Momma? Are we going to town today?" Abigail asks.

"Yes, _bebe_, as soon as a certain adorable three year old lets her Momma dress her," I teased.

"Oh! Oh! I'm three!" she squealed, "are you talking about me Momma?"

"Of course _ma 'tite ange_, now come on upstairs and lets get you dressed."

We made our way up the stairs and into her bedroom, and I helped Abigail pick out a pretty blue sundress. Once she tugged it over her head, she settled down so I could brush her hair. This was my favorite time of the day. She would sit on her bed and I would stand behind her, brushing and brushing until her long black hair was soft as a cloud. I tied it up in a blue ribbon and we went back downstairs.

Stopping to put our shoes on, we went out the front screen door, and walked hand in hand around the house to where my old Graham Cavalier was parked. I had been surprised when Robert gave it to me and taught me how to drive. It was the sort of independence I wasn't usually allowed to have.

We both got into the drivers seat, and I plugged the key into the ignition, turning it sharply. Breathing a sigh of relief when the engine groaned to life, I shifted into drive and pulled away from the house.

We motored to town at a leisurely pace, not wanting to rush the trip. When we were driving like this I liked to pretend that we weren't coming back, that we were going away somewhere where Robert couldn't hurt us anymore, where no one would hurt us ever again. I knew that could never happen. Even if I did get up the courage to leave him, I knew no one would help us. 'What kind of a woman leaves her husband to fend for himself? And take away his child no less?' That's exactly what they would say before turning us away. He would find us regardless, it didn't matter where we went he would always find us.

I pulled up in front of Bonita's only grocery and helped Abigail out of the car. We walked into the small store, picking up a small basket to put our purchases in, and made our way to the back of the store to the butchers counter, getting in line behind two people I had never seen before.

"Hello, Mrs. Andrews, some weather we're having today, no?" the butcher boomed in his jovial voice.

"Hello, Mr. Lewis," I murmured.

"I'll be with you in a minute, _chere_. Hey, have you met our towns newest editions?"

I shook my head no as the two in front of me turned around.

"_Une_ _belle femme _is Mrs. Cullen," he said as the woman in question smiled hugely. She was about my height and build, with soft caramel colored hair, and eyes that matched. She had the kindest face I had ever seen.

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Cullen, I'm Mrs. Andrews," I said.

"Please call me Esme," she said, her voice was strangely accented, defiantly not from Louisiana.

"Then you must call me Isabella," I said, "I'm sorry Esme, but I can't seem to place your accent."

She chuckled lightly, "I wasn't aware that I had one until we moved here, were from Washington originally."

I nodded my understanding, and turned my gaze to the man standing next to her.

"This is my nephew, Jasper Whitlock," Esme said.

He was tall, at least 6'2", he towered over me when he stepped forward, holding out his hand. He bent at the waist, brushing his lips across the back of my hand when I placed it in his. His skin was alarmingly cold, and I couldn't figure out how anyone could have cold hands in 92 degree weather. His wild honey blonde hair fell into his eyes when he looked up at me, still bent over my hand.

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," he murmured in a deep voice laced with what I assumed was a Texan accent.

I blushed, removing my hand from his, ducking my head and observing him from underneath my lashes. The man was a living god. His features were rugged and handsome, and, combined with is curly hair, gave him an almost wild look. His body was long and rangy, with slightly broad shoulders and narrow hips. Even his oddly rust colored eyes were beautiful.

I felt my heart quicken, and my pulse began to race. There was a strange warmth in the pit of my stomach, and I was taken slightly aback, what was I doing? I had no business being attracted to him.

I looked down when I felt a tugging at the bottom of my skirt, and saw Abigail looking up at me with wide eyes. "I wanna say hello to the pretty people to Momma," she said.

I lifted her in my arms, and settled her on my hip. "Abigail, this is Mrs. Cullen and her nephew Jasper Whitlock," I said.

"Hello," Abigail said shyly, then turned to whisper in my ear, "Momma? How do you say 'pretty lady' in your pretty words?"

I laughed lightly at the question before whispering back, "_Jolie fille_."

Abigail turned back to Esme, "Hello _j-j-jolie-e f-f-fille_," she said, stuttering on the French.

Esme beamed, "And hello to you to, precious."

Abigail turned to Jasper, "Hello _jolie fille_," she said confidently.

Esme and I broke down in giggles while Jasper looked only slightly taken aback at being called a 'pretty lady'.

"Okay, Mrs. Cullen, I have your order ready."

My heart sank. I had forgotten that someone was watching. Another man had kissed my hand. When Robert found out about this, and he would, there would be hell to pay.

"Well, Isabella, Abigail, I hope we see you soon," Esme said. I merely smiled faintly.

They began making their way to the front of the store, and I turned to watch them go, only to lock eyes with Jasper. He was watching me as he walked, his head tilted slightly to the left, a confused expression on his face.

I smiled at him somewhat weakly, and turned around to place my meat order.

When we got back home, I unloaded the car and set about putting the groceries away and preparing dinner. I decided to make Abigails favorite, roast beef.

I seasoned the meat, chopped carrots and potatoes, and arranged it all in a baking dish. Sliding it in the oven I glanced at the clock. It would be done in about three hours, right on time.

I walked to the bottom of the stairs and hollered up, "Abigail, _bebe_, do you want to go out and play?"

"Yayyyy!" she squealed, running down the stairs, and out the back door.

"Now, do you remember the most important rule?" I asked when I caught up with her.

She nodded vigorously, "Stay away from the water," she said, eyes wandering all over.

"That's right, now have fun, I'll be right here watching," I said, sitting down in one of the many chairs we had placed around the yard.

"Whooo!" she yelled, running across the grass. I smiled and settled back in my seat, casting my gaze out to the bayou. I heard a bird screech, then saw it swoop down and snatch some thing out of the water. This made me think about what happened this after noon, and my chest tightened. When Robert found out he would be the bird of prey, and I would be whatever unfortunate creature he decided to gobble up.

I let Abigail play for over two hours before going inside to wash up and finish dinner. I had every thing ready and set out about ten minutes early, and we sat down at the table to wait.

When dinnertime came and went and Robert never came, I began to worry. Not about his safety, but about the state he would be in when he got home.

I went ahead and fed Abigail, then bathing her and putting her to bed when she was finished. Just like I did every night I went back downstairs to clean up the kitchen, and found Robert sitting at the table.

I could smell the alcohol from across the room, and he glared at me through blood shot eyes. _Merde _he must already know.

"Well, well, well, Isabella, you know I heard the funniest thing while I was in town today," he slurred.

I remained silent.

I stood from the table and began to stalk toward me.

"_I _heard," he drawled, "that some _fils de putain _was kissing all over you at the grocery today."

I hung my head and remained silent.

His fist came out of nowhere, connecting with the left side of my face, knocking me to the floor.

"What do you have to say about that Isabella?" he asked.

His boot landed in my stomach, all of my air rushing out in a little 'oof'. "Answer me, whore," he growled, kicking me again and again.

I couldn't breath, all the air had been knocked out of my lungs. Pain shot up both sides, and I knew he had broken at least three ribs.

Tears streamed in rivulets down my face as he dropped down, straddling my waist, knees digging into my sides, making the pain from my ribs double. He sent his fist in my face over and over, cursing in French between blows.

I lay there, to numb to really feel any pain anymore, and I prayed for unconsciousness or death, either one would suffice. I felt a sense of relief when the blackness crept in around the edges of my vision, and completely took over.

I floated in and out of awareness. I couldn't see anything, but I could hear. I heard Robert cursing to himself.

"Fuck, Fuck, Fuck! What the hell am I gonna do now?" I heard him stomp across the room and throw a window open. "_C'est ein affair a pus finir_," he said quietly.

He was quiet for a long while, then he spoke again. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered to himself, "that would work." He didn't say anything else, but then a few moments later I was thrown over his shoulder, and he was out the back door.

I stayed very still, not moving a muscle, trying not to even breath. He neared the water. "Goodbye, _ma douce amie_," he said quietly. Then I was in the water.

My body sunk like a stone, I didn't have the energy or the strength to even try to swim. I sunk deeper, the water closing in all around me, little dots creeping into my vision as what little oxygen I had in my lungs disappeared. I had one last thought as the blackness took me again...... _Abigail._

**Jasper's P.O.V.**

I spent our first week in Bonita helping Esme with the house during the day, and just wandering around at night. I'm not sure what I was looking for, but being the stubborn fool that I am, I looked anyways.

Today is the first time it's been cloudy since we've been here, and Esme, for some reason, was going to the grocery.

"Jasper would you like to come with me?" she asked.

"And why are we going again?"

"To keep up appearances, and I think it would be good for you to be around humans, it might desensitize you somewhat." she answered.

I sighed and drug a hand through my already crazy hair. Alice pranced up next to me and tugged on my arm like a small child, trying to get me to lean down so she could tell me something.

"I think you should go with Esme," she whispered, "you might just find what you've been looking for."

I straightened up and simply stared at her for a moment, head cocked to the side, while I processed her words. When I finally got it, my face lit up in the biggest smile that I could remember since...well, ever.

I bent down, grabbing Alice around the waist, swinging her through the air, "You are the best sister!" I shouted.

I could feel the happiness radiating off both Alice and Esme, it was the first time I had referred to any of them as family.

Setting Alice down, I gave her a peck on the cheek and followed Esme out the door. I held her car door for her, then ran around to the other side, sliding behind the wheel of the family's Studebaker.

We pulled up to the small, family owned store, and exited the car. I could smell the humans before we even went inside. There were so many, and they smelt so _good_. I stiffened as venom filled my mouth, but Esme just grabbed my hand and pulled me forward, into the store.

"Esme? Could we make this a short trip, please?" I asked, momentarily forgetting why I came in the first place. She just nodded, and pulled me to the back of the store to the butchers counter.

I heard the two humans get in line behind us, and it took me a few seconds to notice that the tugging sensation that had been plaguing me for so long, was gone.

I turned around as the butcher began the introductions. I barely heard him.

Standing in front of me was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, vampire or human.

Her skin was nearly pale as mine, just a hint of a blush gracing her cheeks, her long dark hair was done simply, framing her face. She greeted Esme politely, then turned her large chocolate brown eyes on me. There was an immense sadness in those eyes, and it seemed to radiate from every part of her.

When Esme introduced me, I couldn't help myself. I bowed low, kissing her hand, the southern gentleman in me coming to the surface.

"Pleased to meet you ma'am," I murmured, looking up at her.

I had to fight a cocky grin when her attraction and desire washed over me. I heard her heart beat pick up and her pulse begin to race, pumping her blood faster through her veins. I felt no desire for it whatsoever.

I had forgotten there was some one else with her when she picked up the most adorable child. The girl was the spitting image of her mother, but with long jet-black hair.

Abigail had Esme wrapped around her little finger the moment she said hello. Then Abigail turned to me.

"Hello _jolie fille_," she said to me. I was about to laugh at being called a 'pretty lady', but the smile that graced Isabella's face took my breath away, and left me dumbfounded.

Then the butcher, Mr. Lewis, interrupted and I felt a powerful wave of fear come from Isabella. This threw me, a second ago her mood had been lightening. What could have her so frightened? I watched her as I walked away, and she looked up, right into my eyes.

I was sure as hell going to find out.

Now here I sat, hours later, gazing out the window mooning over this woman like a love sick teenager. This is ridiculous, I'm a vampire for crying out loud, a vampire who is very much feared by the whole freaking vampire community, and I'm actually _pining _after a human.

Man, up Whitlock, just go find her. I could track her scent, and follow it to her home.....

I had nearly talked myself into it when I heard Alice gasp in horror. "CARLISLE!" she screamed.

I was across the room in half a second, and grabbed her shoulders, "What, Alice? What is it?"

"That woman you met in town today-"

"Isabella, what about her? What happened?" I interrupted.

"If Carlisle doesn't HURRY," she screamed in his direction, "she's going to die."

I was out the door in two seconds, Carlisle running behind me, Alice screaming directions at us.

She couldn't die, I wouldn't let her.

**Glossary of Cajun French:**

_bebe_: baby

_ma 'tite ange_: my little angel

_chere_: term of endearment

_une belle femme_: the beautiful woman

_jolie fille_: pretty lady

_merde_: shit

_fils de putain_: son of a bitch

_c'est ein affair a pus finir_: it's a thing that has no end


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**Jasper's P.O.V.**

I ran as hard and as fast as I could, Carlisle right on my heels. We zipped through town, running too fast for any one to see, and down the old country road that Alice said would lead to Isabella's home. She couldn't die. I kept thinking about her smile, the way it lit up her entire face and the sadness in her eyes seemed to disappear, even if only for a short while. I felt my chest tighten, and I wondered why. I didn't have time to sort it out now, I would figure it out later.

A small two story house came into view, and I lifted my head, inhaling deeply through my nose. I could pick up traces of freesias and coffee in the air, Isabella's scent. It surrounded the house like a fog, two other scents swirling with it, seasoning it. We followed the most recent trail away from the house, and it led straight to the muddy banks of the bayou.

Oh God.

My eyes searched the surface of the water frantically. I couldn't see her anywhere. I strained my eyes, trying to see through the thick vegetation under the surface, but even with my advanced vision, the water was too murky.

"There!" Carlisle said, pointing to his left.

I snapped my eyes in that direction, and about thirty feet down, I caught a glimpse of a pale, white hand sticking out of the water, before sinking below.

I jumped in with out further thought, staying under, giving a silent thanks that I didn't have to go up for air, while I searched for her. I saw the fabric of her skirt wrapped around a tangle of weeds, I could see her dark hair floating in the water. I swam to her; she was deathly pale, her eyes closed, her arms were hanging as if suspended by invisible wire. I grabbed her around the waist, pushing myself toward the surface, breaking through in a matter of seconds. I pulled her onto the bank, crushing the long reed's under our weight.

Carlisle ran over to us and reached for her wrist to check for a pulse while I lay my head on her chest listening for a heartbeat. It was there but barely and I heard Carlisle mummer, "Weak and thread."

"Son, she's not going to make it much longer," he said quietly.

"No!" I roared, "she cannot die!"

Birds shot out of the trees on the opposite bank at my shout, then every thing was silent and still, until Carlisle spoke again,

"We could change her," he said, just as quietly as before.

I reeled at the thought, could I do that to her? I thought once again of her smile, and the image of laughter twinkling and dancing in her eyes. My resolve hardened, leaving no room for doubt.

I nodded to Carlisle, and he said, "Move then, I need to bite her quickly."

I shook my head and stayed put, "I want to do it."

"But son-"

"I know what I'm doing," I interrupted, "I won't loose control. How many have I changed in the past?"

He looked at me warily.

"Please, I need to do this," I said quietly.

He sighed, and nodding his ascent, moved away.

I cradled Isabella in my arms like an infant, and brushed her wet hair away from her face and left side of her neck. I bent my head, pressing my lips against her pulse point right underneath her jaw line and breathed in her heavenly scent. I parted my lips and pressed my razor sharp teeth against her delicate flesh, breaking the skin. I sunk my teeth in and her blood flowed into my mouth while I tried to pump in as much venom as I could. Her blood was flowing down my throat and it tasted like the sweetest ambrosia, but I felt no desire to keep drinking, knowing it would be the end of her if I did.

I moved quickly, biting her wrists and ankles, pushing more venom into her system. I sat back after sealing the wounds, and Carlisle clamped a hand on my shoulder.

I looked up at him, and he said, "I'm proud of you son, now let's get her back to the house."

I nodded, and lifted Isabella in my arms, who had begun to writhe and moan in pain. I kept a good grip on her and began running in the direction we had come, this time with Carlisle in the lead. When we got closer to the house, we could see Esme and Alice waiting on the front porch.

"We prepared the guest room," Esme said, with a glance at Alice once we reached bottom steps of the porch. I nodded and carried her through the open door, up the staircase, and into the guest room, which was conveniently located next to my bedroom. I moved swiftly across the room, and laid her gently on the bed. She was thrashing about, shaking her head back and forth on the pillow.

"My God," Esme said, horrified, "What happened to her face?"

I had been wondering the exact same thing. Isabella's face was swollen and bruised, the skin split and bleeding in places. Both eyes were swollen completely shut, and we could see, with our superior vision, that her nose and cheek bones were shattered.

"It looks like she was beaten," Carlisle said quietly.

No sooner had the words left his lips the door burst open, bouncing off the wall, and Rosalie walked in with a fierce expression, followed by Emmett, who quietly shut the door behind them. Rosalie walked toward the bed, and I stiffened, ready to defend Isabella. I knew Rosalie's feelings about changing.

She surprised us all when she merely gave me a scathing look, and went to sit on the bed next to Isabella, taking the woman's hand in hers. Rosalie looked at Alice, "I suppose you have clothes that will fit her?" she asked.

Alice nodded enthusiastically.

"Go and get her something comfortable to where then, so we can get her out of her wet things," Rosalie said, and Alice rushed out the door.

Everyone turned to stare at Rosalie incredulously, except for Emmett, who was radiating nothing but pride and love for his wife.

Alice returned within seconds, a white nightgown draped over her arm, and Emmett, Carlisle and I were shooed out to the hall so the girls could get Isabella cleaned up and dressed.

"Where's Edward?" I asked, noticing his absence for the first time.

"Hunting," was Carlisle's response.

I nodded and turned my attention back to the door as it opened, and we filed back in. All eyes were immediately on Isabella. Most of the cuts on her face had healed, and she did look better in dry clothes. She was thrashing all over the bed, and I imagine it took all three women to dress her.

"Jasper?" Esme asked quietly. I turned my head in her direction, my eyes never leaving Isabella, "What about the little girl? Her daughter?"

Fear shot through me. I had been so focused on saving Isabella, I had forgotten about Abigail.

"What? What little girl?" Rosalie asked.

"Isabella's daughter," I whispered, "I don't know, Esme. I just don't know."

The emotions coming from Rosalie and Esme were palpable. Fear, panic, worry, and sorrow over what might have happened swirled around me, and, that combined with the pain I felt coming from Isabella was enough to drive me insane.

"Calm down Rosalie, Esme," Carlisle said, "We could pick up two other scents around the house, so I'm sure the girl's with her father. I'm sure she's okay."

Esme and Rosalie calmed down somewhat, and Rosalie took up her position next to Isabella, taking her hand again. I went over and sat on her other side, taking her other hand.

That's when the screaming started. I wanted to scream along with her, I wanted to beg her forgiveness for causing her this pain.

"KILL ME!" she screamed, "_BON DIEU AVIOR PITIE!_"

"Speaking of the girl's father," Emmett said, speaking for the first time since we brought Isabella here, "Where the hell was this guy while his wife was being beaten and thrown in the bayou?"

Everyone's curiosity peaked, but I was stuck on one word. Wife. I mean it made sense that she was married, she had a daughter after all, I had just never thought about it before. That same un-identifiable emotion rose in my chest, and I pushed it back down, telling myself once again that I would figure it out later.

Everyone eventually dispersed, except for Rosalie and myself, we stayed right where we were, on either side of Isabella, each gripping a hand, trying to help her through this.

I was laying on my side next to Isabella, still holding her hand, whispering word's of comfort, when Edward arrived. I could feel his curiosity when he heard Isabella's screams, and he darted up the stairs, and into the room, followed by Carlisle and Esme.

To say that Edward and I didn't see eye to eye was an extreme understatement. I thought he was a spoiled, selfish, egotistical, whiny child. He thought that I was dangerous and not to be trusted. He was dead on with the first, as to the second, well, I was still working on that.

He looked at Isabella writhing on the bed, and I could just feel the smugness and amusement rolling off him. He looked at Carlisle, "Trying again, Carlisle?" he said. What in the hell is he talking about?

"Still trying to find a mate for me?" he asked, chuckling, looking back to Isabella, "well at least this time you've brought me something worth my while."

A fierce growl ripped from my chest, tangling with Rosalie's, and I could hear Emmett's echoing down the hall from their bedroom. The next second he was against the wall with me at his throat as Emmett burst through the door, looking murderous.

"You son of a bitch," I snarled. Just then Isabella's scream's rose in pitch and in tempo; she must be able to sense all the anger and hostility in the room. I snarled in his face again, then pushed myself off, shoving him back into the wall. I walked back to the bed, talking to Emmett over my shoulder, "Get that bastard out of here, I'll deal with him later."

"My fucking pleasure," Emmett growled, dragging a protesting Edward out of the room.

"What?" he yelled on his way out, "What's going on? What did I say?"

Carlisle sighed deeply, shaking his head, "I'll speak with him," he said to me, moving toward the door, and pulling it shut behind him.

I sat back down on the bed, taking Isabella's hand again, and I heard Rosalie whisper, "Thank you."

I saw Esme slip quietly from the room, "No problem," I answered, "He needs to be brought down a peg or two."

"Rosalie?" I asked.

"Hmmm?"

"Why are you doing this? Ya know being nice to Isabella and all?"

She looked down before asking, "You know my history right? Why Carlisle changed me?"

I nodded.

"Well, when I heard him say that she had been beaten, I flashed back to _that_ night, and my change, and I figured that it would help if she had someone here who understood." she said quietly. I had never heard Rosalie so subdued or vulnerable. That would explain why she didn't tear into Edward herself, she was making sure that she was there for Isabella.

"Thank you," I said quietly.

She nodded, and we both settled in next to Isabella. Neither of us moved for three days.

At the end of the third day, everyone gathered in the room, sans Edward, just as Isabella's heart began to speed up for the last time. It beat thunderously, then slowed, and slowed, until it gave one final beat, and then went silent, as it would be forever.

I was still lying on the bed next to her, and I got up, not wanting to startle her when she opened her eyes. I stood next to the bed, watching her face intently, when her eyes snapped open, meeting mine. Crimson met rust, and I was lost.

I finally recognized the emotion that had been chasing me, the emotion I kept trying to escape, to push aside to figure out later; it was love.

_Bon dieu avior pitie_: Good God have mercy


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**Isabella's P.O.V.**

The fire that was slowly burning me alive, seemed to fade, and fade, and fade until it was completely gone. Or so I thought. It had faded from my body, but had collected in the back of my throat, parching me. My first thought was _water_! But that didn't sound appealing at all, no I craved something baser, more animalistic, something thick and sweet that would flow down my throat....

Something rustled next to me, and I felt whatever I was laying on shift slightly. My eyes snapped open in alarm, and I looked straight into a pair of familiar rust colored eyes.

Memories came rushing back to me; crazy honey blonde hair, cold hands, a Texan accent, my heart pounding, my pulse racing as waves of desire crashed over me. A name, a name came with the memory,

"Jasper?" I whispered, then froze. I expected my voice to rasp, conveying my thirst, but it was the opposite. It was too beautiful; it sounded like bells dancing in the wind. _What's going on?_

His mouth quirked up into a half grin, I drew in a sharp breath, his smile was so beautiful. The smell of magnolia's, leather and pecans bombarded me, and I breathed deeply, it was wonderful. Where was it coming from? Where did Jasper come from?

"What's going on? Why are you here? Where am I?" The questions came rushing out. My mouth didn't seem to be able to keep up with my frenzied train of thought, and my words came out garbled.

"Calm down, Isabella. We will explain everything, but right now you need to calm down," he said.

A fog of calm surrounded me, and the panic I had felt a moment ago disappeared, and I nodded, looking around the room.

I was surrounded by people. Three women and two more men were grouped around the bed I was laying on. One of the women's face's stood out. Her caramel colored hair waved gently down her back, and her eyes twinkled as she smiled at me. More memories; a small store, a kind face. Esme Cullen. She was more beautiful than I remembered, like I was seeing her clearer than before.

"Esme?" I questioned.

She beamed and nodded.

I wanted to sit up, and no sooner had I thought about doing it, I was there. _Mon Dieu_, what's going on?

The man standing next to Esme stepped forward, "Isabella, I'm Carlisle Cullen," he said, "this is my family, Emmett," he pointed to a big burly man with curly brown hair and mischievous eyes. I had the strangest impulse to breath deeply through my nose as he was introduced; the man smelled like pine trees and maple.

"Rosalie," the blonde he pointed to was stunning, her shining golden hair cascaded down her back. She had a sense of regality about her, and seemed almost aloof, but she had kind eyes. I inhaled deeply again, white lilies and chocolate.

"Alice," this time he pointed to an extremely small woman with short, spiky hair so black, it was almost blue. She was smiling enthusiastically at me, and bounced on the spot, as if she couldn't contain all of her energy. She smelled like citrus and fresh linen, exhilarating and refreshing all at once, like a big gulp of fresh water....

That just reminded me of the burn my throat, I placed my hand there, and looked at Jasper with pleading eyes, ready to beg for something to drink. He noticed my movement and looked to Carlisle, "She's thirsty, could we hurry this up?"

Carlisle nodded, moving toward me slightly, and I shoved my self backwards on the bed, slamming into the headboard. He froze and stepped back, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you," he said.

I stayed where I was, pressed against the headboard, my hand clutched at my throat, looking from one person to the next, and I felt my irritability rise, "Will some one tell me what's the hell's going on?" I snapped. Why was I so angry all of a sudden?

"I would be happy to explain everything to you," Carlisle said, "is it okay if I sit on the edge of the bed?"

The anger faded almost as quickly as it had come, and I nodded slightly. He moved very slowly, and sat on the bed next to me. His smell hit me, books and smoke mixed with the delicious scent of magnolia's, leather, and pecans that had to belong to Jasper.

"Okay, Isabella, while I'm explaining things I need you to try and remain calm. I know that it will be difficult, but I want you to try. Can you do that?" I nodded again.

"Good, now tell me, what do you know about vampires?" he said.

"Vampires?" I said incredulously.

He nodded, "Yes, vampires."

"Vampires?" I repeated again.

"Yes."

I just looked at him and waited. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, you see, Isabella," he paused and looked around awkwardly, "that's what we are, my family I mean, and you are now too."

I simply kept staring, wanting to panic, but the fog of calm that had settled around me wouldn't let me.

I looked at Jasper pleadingly, silently begging him to tell me this was all a joke. I couldn't be a vampire.

"I'm sorry Isabella, but it's true," he said, sitting down next to me on the bed, "I'm sure you've noticed that things are different, that _you're _different. The way you move faster, your sight. I know that your feeling the burn in the back of your throat, the burn of thirst."

I squeezed my eyes shut, blocking them all out. It can't be true. But as much as I didn't want to believe it, I knew he was right. I wanted to deny, rage, scream, but I knew deep down that he was right.

"_Dieu_," I whispered, "How did this happen?" I asked.

I opened my eyes to catch Carlisle and Jasper share a look. "Isabella, we will tell you more later, but right now you need to hunt," Carlisle said.

"Hunt? Hunt what? Humans?" I questioned, horrified, my voice rising.

"No, No," Carlisle said, "my family doesn't hunt humans, we hunt animals."

This made me feel better, and my horror melted away. It was amazing how quickly my emotions were flipping around.

"Emmett and I will take you," Jasper said, standing and offering me his hand. I took it, noticing that his hands weren't cold anymore, and rose in another of those alarmingly fast movements. I paused, and Jasper noticed, "You'll get used to it," he said.

Still holding my hand he began to lead me towards the door, and Emmett fell into step behind us.

"Wait!" Alice called from behind us, "can't I just-"

"No Alice," Jasper cut her off, "you can change her later."

"Change me?" I asked once we were outside the room.

"Your clothes," Jasper explained.

We were in a long hallway with dark hard wood floors with cream colored walls and a runner that matched. Paintings of trees and rivers and other natural settings adorned the walls, and there were dark wood tables that matched the floor spaced sporadically down the hall, each holding a vase of flowers. The scents hit me as we walked past them, lilies, freesias, orange blossoms. We reached the top of an impressive stair case, and flitted down it in half a second. This made me pause again at the bottom, Jasper was right, that was going to take some getting used to.

"Okay," Jaspers voice broke through my thoughts, "Emmett you're driving me crazy. Why are you being so quiet? I can feel your excitement and amusement."

Emmett just shrugged, a playful smile tugging at his lips.

"Feel? What do you mean you can _feel_ his excitement and amusement?"

Jasper looked guilty, like he'd said something he wasn't supposed to. "Um, well, shit," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck, he looked up at me, "well, ya see, the thing is, I can feel and manipulate emotions." He said this last part quickly.

"So all of that calm I was feeling before, that was you?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Oh, okay," I said with a shrug.

He looked at me incredulously, "Really, that's it? No freaking out?"

I looked at him blankly, "I just found out that I'm a vampire, it's going to take a lot more than that to freak me out."

We were still standing at the bottom of the staircase, just looking at one another, when Emmett cleared his throat, making me start and twirl around, the snarl that had been starting in my chest quickly died down when I saw who it was, and I mumbled "Sorry", then turned back around in embarrassment.

"Come on," Jasper said, "let's go hunt."

We ran through the front door, and stepped out into the warm night air. I had never noticed how _alive _the night was before. Everything seemed to move and breath around me. I stood there mesmerized until Jasper spoke again.

"What are we going to have her hunt?" he asked Emmett, "there's not really much around here, we always go on hunting trips up north."

"I've been thinking about that," Emmett said, his grin growing wider, "there's really only one thing she can hunt," he paused dramatically, and the reason for his amusement became evident, "Gator."

I just stared at him, while Jasper looked like he was trying not to laugh, "You're right," he said, then looked at me, "Sorry, it's gonna taste pretty bad, but that's really all there is." And with that they both dissolved into laughter.

"_Arete sa!_" I shouted, enraged. Where is all of this anger coming from?

They sobered immediately, "I'm sorry, Isabella, but after the last couple of days, I needed a laugh," Jasper said, looking sheepish.

"Okay, let's do this," Emmett said, rubbing his hands together, and he darted off, leaving Jasper and I to follow. We ran around the house and to the swampy water that surrounded the back.

"Okay, come on," Jasper said taking my hand and leading me to the bank. "There's one," he whispered, pointing to a gigantic gator about ten feet away. It was sitting very still in the water, watching us. "Just wait here," Jasper said.

He waded toward the beast, and it turned, trying frantically to swim away. Jasper caught up with it quickly, grabbing hold of the head, and turning it sharply. The gator went still in the water, and Jasper flipped it over, using his hand to rip into the throat. He wrapped his arms around the giant lizards neck and drug him to the bank.

"Go ahead," he said, gesturing toward the beast. I could smell the blood, and it didn't smell all that good. I wrinkled my nose at him, and he chuckled lightly, "I know, but it's all we've got."

I crouched beside it, and bent over the reptiles neck. Latching on to the open wound, I pulled and blood gushed into my mouth. I had to fight the urge not to spit it out again. It was cold and absolutely disgusting, but it was quenching the fire in the back of my throat.

When the beast was drained, I stood up and wiped my mouth on my sleeve, then scrubbed my tongue clean. Emmett was rolling around on the ground roaring with laughter, that's when the wind changed. My eyes widened, and my nostrils flared as I breathed in the most tantalizing scent. It was musky, and warm, and sweet, and _mine_.

I paused for only a second to inhale again, before darting north. I didn't get very far before Jasper tackled me to the ground.

An indescribable fear overcame me, and I threw my arms above my head, cowering on the ground underneath Jasper. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I repeated over and over.

I felt Jasper leap off me, and then his voice was very close in my ear, "Isabella, what's wrong? What's the matter?"

I barely heard him. Flashing before my eyes were memories of a little girl. A little girl with a sweet heart shaped face, large brown eyes and raven black hair. Memories of her as an infant, toddling around on the floor, running across grass hooting with glee.

I felt some one lift me, Emmett or Jasper I'm not sure, I heard one of them say, "Let's get her back to Carlisle." Then we were flying through the air, but I didn't care. I was lost in memories of my little girl.

_Dieu: _God

_Arete sa: _Stop it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

**Isabella's P.O.V.**

_I was sitting in a narrow bed, but I barely noticed my discomfort, all of my attention was riveted on the tiny creature in my arms. Wrapped in a bundle of pink blankets, all that was visible was her tiny little face and shock of raven black hair. I rocked her gently in my arms humming a lullaby I can remember my mother humming to me years ago..._

"Isabella?"

I jerked with a start, and looked around. I was in an unfamiliar room lying on a leather sofa, and Carlisle Cullen was crouched next to me, a worried expression on his face.

"Isabella, what happened?"

"I-I'm not sure," I said, glancing around the room, my eyes finally landing on Jasper, leaning in the doorway with a worried expression. "We-We were hunting, and I smelled the most appetizing thing..." I trailed off, relishing in the memory for a moment, "I took off after it, and Jasper knocked me to the ground. I was scared, I was just so scared. I was waiting for Jasper to do _something_, then there was a little girl, _my_ little girl, I was remembering all sorts of things, events, little moments, but that was it, no name, nothing like that."

"Abigail," Jasper said from the doorway, "her name is Abigail."

"Where is she? What happened to her?" I asked franticly.

"We don't know, we _think _she's with her father. We were actually hoping you could tell us." Carlisle said. My head snapped in his direction when he said father.

More memories flooded in. Me cowering on a kitchen floor, a man looming over me hand raised, lying on a bed underneath the same man as the thrust violently into me, more and more and more. There didn't seem to be an end to them.

"_Mon Dieu!_ We have to get her out of there!" I screamed, jumping to my feet.

"What? What's the matter? Do you remember what happened?" Carlisle asked.

_"I heard," he drawled, "that some fils de pute was kissing all over you at the grocery today." I hung my head and remained silent. His fist came out of nowhere, connecting with the left side of my face, knocking me to the floor. "What do you have to say about that Isabella?" he asked. His boot landed in my stomach, all of my air rushing out in a little 'oof'. "Answer me, whore," he growled, kicking me again and again. I couldn't breathe, all the air had been knocked out of my lungs. Pain shot up both sides, and I knew he had broken at least three ribs. Tears streamed in rivulets down my face as he dropped down, straddling my waist, knees digging into my sides, making the pain from my ribs double. He sent his fist in my face over and over, cursing in French between blows. I lay there, too numb to really feel any pain anymore, and I prayed for unconsciousness or death, either one would suffice. I felt a sense of relief when the blackness crept in around the edges of my vision, and completely took over......._

_.....I was thrown over his shoulder, and he was out the back door. I stayed very still, not moving a muscle, trying not to even breathe. He neared the water. "Goodbye, ma douce amie," he said quietly. Then I was in the water. My body sunk like a stone, I didn't have the energy or the strength to even try to swim. I sunk deeper, the water closing in all around me, little dots creeping into my vision as what little oxygen I had in my lungs disappeared. _

"It was him," I whispered.

"Him what? I don't understand," Carlisle said.

"My husband, he did it."

_SNAP! _I spun around to see Jasper with a piece of wood in his hand, his arm in midair where the door _used _to be, chest heaving, eyes wild, shards of broken wood scattered around him.

"Your..._husband_...did...that...to...you?" he ground out from between clenched teeth.

"YES! Now do you understand? We have to go get her! We have to get her away from that monster!"

"We can't do that, Isabella," Carlisle said.

I spun back around to face him, "What do you mean _we can't do that?_" I screeched.

"You are a newborn vampire," he said calmly, looking over my shoulder at Jasper. Moments later I felt a fog of calm surround me, and I looked at him do, "_Arrete_," I growled, and the calm slowly faded.

Carlisle sighed and continued, "We can't because you are a newborn vampire, do you remember that scent you caught while hunting?" he asked. I nodded, and he said, "That was a human, and your daughter will smell the same way to you. Do you want to put her in danger?"

"She already is in danger!"

"She would be in even more danger here-"

"If you won't help me," I cut across him, "then I'll go get her myself."

I spun on my heel and marched to Jasper who still stood blocking the door way. "Move Jasper," I growled.

He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I said move," I growled again.

"Please don't do this," he pleaded, "please just listen to Carlisle."

It was my turn to shake my head, "I'm sorry, I can't do that."

I felt the calm and lethargy and peacefulness begin to overwhelm me, and I almost succumbed. But then I thought of Abigail, and my resolve hardened, and I was able to shake off the fabricated emotions.

Jaspers arms fell to his sides, "How?" he asked. I took advantage of his momentary lapse in concentration, and I rushed him, head down, and planted a shoulder in his stomach, knocking him into the opposite wall. It cracked and plaster rained down on his head, as he sat there staring at me with a startled expression. I took off down the hall, burst through the French doors that lead to a balcony, and launched myself over the railing, landing like a cat on the ground below.

I paused, looking up at the balcony to see if anyone would follow, but I saw no one. I shot off like a bullet in the direction of my home, intent on saving my little girl.

I slowed as the house came in sight, the mixed scents of sunshine and lavender, cotton and sweat, and a third I wasn't able to identify floated in the air around the house. I could almost _see _them twirling and dancing in the wind. I could also hear _everything_, I could hear the deep snores coming from a second story window, I could hear the curtains rustling in the breeze, I could hear the _drip, drip, drip_ of the kitchen faucet, I could hear the wings of a moth beating frantically, trying to get through a closed window.

These sounds weren't what caught my attention. _Mais non,_ it was the deep, thick _kathunk, kathunk_ that accompanied the sweet sound of something rushing, circulating, _blood? _It hypnotized me, and I found myself walking almost against my will toward the house. I scaled the side of the building and the sweet, delicious smell of sunshine and lavender grew stronger and stronger until I was completely enveloped by it. I reached the second story window and perched on the sill looking in.

The room was familiar, as was the little girl nestled peacefully in the small bed. It would be so easy, I could sneak in and no one would ever no I was here....

I had the window half way open before what I was doing finally hit me.

I was trying to kill my little girl, I wanted to drink her blood.

_NO!_

I jerked myself back from the window so hard, I fell of the sill towards the ground. I landed with a thud and the leaves in a near by tree shuddered. I simply lay there, staring up at the night sky.

_Merde_, they were right. I was a danger. I couldn't believe that two seconds ago, I was plotting the death of my daughter.

I'm not sure how long I lay there on the ground sobbing, my eyes filling with tears that I discovered would never fall. When I saw the orange sun peaking over the swampy waters of the bayou, I picked myself up and ran back in the direction of the Cullen home.

I stopped about ten yards from the back of the house. Were they angry? I had attacked Jasper, they were probably furious. I stared at the back of the house. It was white clapboard with black trim and shutters, and it seemed that each room had a set of French doors that opened to its own balcony. The set of doors directly in front of me were open, and I could smell Jasper's distinct scent wafting out. I didn't hear any movement within, so I assumed the room was empty. I could wait in his bedroom and apologize when he got back. Sounded like a good plan.

I backed up a couple steps, and eyed the distance from the ground to the edge of the balcony. About thirty feet, I could feel the power in my muscles and I figured I could jump it no problem.

I sank down into a crouch, and coiled my muscles. I sprang forward, over the railing, landing without a sound on the balcony. I looked into the bedroom and froze, it was not empty.

Jasper was lying on the bed, facing away from me, not moving or breathing. I inched a little closer. One arm was lying across his middle and the other was above his head, it looked like he just collapsed there. A little closer. His golden blonde hair was in disarray around his face, several strands had fallen onto his closed eyelids. A couple more inches. Looking at his face, I noticed that there were several scars running along his jaw and down his neck disappearing into the blue T-shirt he was wearing. How had I not noticed them before? Instead of being repulsed by them though, they made him seem even more beautiful to me. I wasn't the only one who was scarred.

I had reached the doorway, and I leaned against the jam, watching him. He was so still, he could almost be sleeping. Could we sleep? That was a question I would have to ask Carlisle. The breeze caught the fabric of my nightgown, making it rustle slightly, and Jaspers eyes snapped open. He was off the bed and facing me in half a second. I drew back at the frightening expression on his face, he was absolutely terrifying. Then his features softened, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Isabella," he breathed, "I was so worried. What happened?'

"I-I wanted to kill her," I whispered, "I wanted to kill my daughter. I could smell her blood, and I wanted it."

"What happened?" he asked, this time more urgently, "you didn't-"

"No! I stopped myself. But that still doesn't change the fact," I sank to the floor, and buried my head in my hands, "How could I do that? How could I-" I cut off when I felt his strong, muscular arms wrap around me. I froze for a moment, then had to remind myself that this was _Jasper _not Robert. These arms were merely comforting, not cruel.

I leaned into his embrace and cried and cried until I couldn't cry any more. I pulled back and stood, rubbing my sleeve across my eyes, and looked at Jasper, still on his knees in front of me.

"_Merci_," I said, with a weak smile. He just nodded and stood, "Do you want to talk to Carlisle now?" I shook my head yes and followed him out the door and down the hall to Carlisle's office.

"Wait," I said to Jasper just outside where the door to Carlisle's office _used _to be. I looked at the wall I had broken when I shoved him into it. I looked back to Jasper, "I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Don't worry," he said with a wave of his hand and a wry smile, "I've had worse."

I nodded looking once more at his scars, until he stepped forward and gestured for me to go through the doorway first. Carlisle was seated behind a massive desk and he looked up as we entered the room.

"Ah- Isabella," he said, sighing in relief.

"I was curious about a couple of things," I said to him.

"Of course you are," he said, "but first tell me, did you go back for the girl?"

I shot a panicked look to Jasper and he nodded, motioning for me to sit down on one of the two chairs positioned in front of the desk. He took the other one, then looked at Carlisle.

"She did go back, and was tempted by the girl's blood, but was able to run away," he explained.

"Amazing," Carlisle breathed, "absolutely fascinating, now tell me-"

"Carlisle," Jasper interrupted, "could we maybe save the study for later?"

"Of course, forgive me," Carlisle said, "you were curious, please, ask away."

"Well, I was wondering a moment ago if we could sleep, do we have to sleep in coffins like they do in books or what? How much of the lore is true? Will the sunlight burn us to a crisp? Garlic? Holy water?"

"First of all, we don't sleep, at all. Garlic doesn't harm us, but it does smell terrible. Holy water has no harmful consequences that I'm aware of. As for sunlight, well..." he trailed off, like he was reluctant to answer, and I braced myself, this has to be bad.

".....we, well, we sparkle in the sun," he said. "Excuse me? Did you just say that we sparkle?" He nodded and I burst into hysterical laughter.

They waited patiently while I got myself under control, then I thought of a very important question.

"What about Abigail? Will I ever be able to be around her again?" I asked.

"Yes, you will," Carlisle said, "with practice we could teach you to resist the call of her blood, and with you already able to resist a little, it don't think it will take near as long as with the others."

"I want to start right away!" I said, jumping up.

Jasper grabbed my wrist, "Wait, Isabella, we have to prepare."

I nodded sadly and sat back down.

"But in the meantime we can make sure that Abigail is safe," Carlisle said.

I perked up, "How?"

"Well, we could send Emmett and Edward over there to make sure," he said.

"Edward? Who's Edward?" I asked.

"He is another member of the family that you haven't met yet. He and Jasper," Carlisle said, looking to Jasper when Jasper let out a small snarl, "had a bit of a disagreement."

"And how will they be able to tell if she's safe?"

"Edward has a special talent," Carlisle said, "he can read minds. He will be able to read your husbands and daughter's minds and make sure that she is not being harmed. Would you like me to call them in here?"

I shook my head yes.

Carlisle raised his head, "Emmett, Edward, could you come in here please?"

One whole second later, Emmett, and another man I had never seen before, were walking through the empty door frame. He was tall, around 6'2" with a lanky boyish build, messy bronze hair, and perfect features. Too perfect. He looked me over slowly as he walked toward the sofa and sat down next to Emmett.

"Edward, I don't believe you've met Isabella," Carlisle said, Edward shook his head no. "Edward Cullen this is Isabella Andrews," he said, and I winced at my name.

Jasper stopped glaring at Edward long enough to notice the action, "What's wrong?"

"My name, I don't want to be called 'Isabella Andrews' it reminds me of Robert to much," I said.

"Well, then what do you want to be called, darlin'?" Jasper asked.

I was momentarily distracted, did he just call me darlin'? I shook my head slightly getting myself together, "Um, well, how about Bella? Bella, Bella," I trailed off trying to come up with a last name.

"How about Bella Whitlock?" Jasper suggested.

I looked over at him. He was staring at me in anticipation, and there was another emotion in his eyes that I couldn't place.

"Bella Whitlock sounds good," I managed to squeak out.

Someone cleared their throat, and we both looked back to Carlisle. He was looking at us with a pleased smile, and gave Jasper a little wink.

"Okay, Emmett and Edward have agreed to go to your home and check things out," Carlisle said, "In the meantime, Bella, would you like to take a bath and maybe change your clothes?"

"That would be wonderful," I said, looking down at myself. The front of my nightgown was caked in blood and mud and other unidentifiable substances. Almost as soon as the words were out of my mouth, a little white and black blur streaked through the doorway.

Alice paused only for a moment to grab my hand, then we were streaking back out the door.

She led me to a bathroom with a huge claw-foot tub in the middle that was just filled to the brim with bubbles. I felt a wave of sadness overcome me thinking about Abigail, she loved bubbles.

Alice was chattering on, a million words per second, but I didn't hear a word of it. I was focused on stripping out of the soiled garment and sinking into the tub.

I sighed and closed my eyes, resting my back against the back of the tub.

"Lift your head for a moment," Alice said, and I complied. I felt something small and soft against the back of my neck, and leaned back down, resting my head on the small pillow.

The door opened and closed, and I opened my eyes to see Rosalie walk into the room. She smiled at me gently and pulled a small stool next to the tub.

"How are you doing Bella?" I shrugged my shoulders.

She nodded in understanding, then said, "We heard what you told Carlisle earlier, about your husband," she paused, and I waited for her judgment, but she leaned in conspiratorially, "You know, I hear Terrabonne Parish has lots of little hidey holes for scum body disposal," she said, then leaned back in her seat.

I just looked at her for a moment, then burst into laughter so loud it echoed and reverberated around the room.

I laughed until my chortles of laughter turned into sobs and I pulled my knees up against my chest and wrapped my arms around them, resting my head on my knees. Two pairs of arms encircled me, and they both shushed me, and stroked my hair until my sobs faded.

"It _will _be okay, Bella," Alice said vehemently, "I can promise you that. Now lean back and let me wash your hair."

An hour later, we were all in Carlisle's office again, listening to Emmett's and Edward's report.

"Everything Bella said was true," Edward said, "her husband was the one who almost killed her, the thoughts that were in that man's head were monstrous," he said, a small shudder seeping into his normal arrogant tone.

"That son of a bitch," Emmett seethed, "when Edward told me what that bastard was thinking, he had to hold me back."

Edward gave him a 'shut-up-so-I-can-finish-this-and-get-back-to-my-own-life' look, then turned back to Carlisle, "The girl is not being harmed, there is an elderly relive, an aunt I think, staying there looking after her." Then he turned around and walked out the door.

I breathed a sigh of relief, "That must be our Great-Aunt DeLila," I said, "she'll look after Abigail. That woman is a force to be reckoned with."

I felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off my chest, it wasn't completely gone, but lightened. It wouldn't be completely gone until I had my _bebe _back in my arms. Jasper must have sensed my emotions, because he wrapped an arm loosely around my shoulders, and whispered, "You _will_ get your daughter back, Bella, I can promise you that. Whatever I have to do, I swear, you will have her in your arms again."

_fils de pute_: son of a bitch

_ma douce amie_: my sweet love

_arrete: _stop

_Mais non_: but no

_merde_: shit

_merci_: thank you

_mon Dieu_: my God

_bebe_: baby


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**Jaspers P.O.V.**

Fuck, what is the matter with me? Why didn't I scout the area? Make sure there were no humans around? I didn't have time to dwell on it now, I had to catch Isabella before she did something I knew she would regret later. How I managed to catch a newborn I'll never know, but within a few seconds I was coming upon Isabella. I dived for her, catching her in the back, knocking her underneath me. Feeling her this close, her back pressed against my front, had my body stirring with desire. She was still so soft, so warm.

Seconds later all the desire went fleeing from me as wave after wave of intense fear crashed into me. It was the same type of fear that I felt coming from Isabella in the grocery the day we met. I looked down at her, pinned underneath me; she had her arms flung above her head in a defensive position and was shaking and cowering, her face pressed into the soft wet ground, utterly terrified. What the hell?

I jumped up, and stood there staring at her for about a quarter of a second, what was she so afraid of? She kept mumbling "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," over and over. Was she afraid of me? Did she think that I would punish her or something? I just couldn't make sense of it. I moved swiftly, crouching down next to her head, "Isabella? What is it? What's the matter?" No answer. Moments later she threw me again, as she went completely still, and began radiating curiosity, then affection, and then pure love. What the hell was going on?

I moved around so I could lift her into my arms, and looked at Emmett, not sure what to do. "Let's get her to Carlisle," he said. I nodded and took off toward the house.

Emmett ran ahead of me, opening doors and clearing the way. We burst through the door to Carlisle's office, he was already on his feet, having heard our approach. I crossed the room in two long strides, laying Isabella down on the sofa that was pushed up against the far wall.

"What happened?" Carlisle questioned, moving to crouch next to Isabella.

"I don't know," I looked around the room for Emmett, but he must have slipped out, "we were hunting, and she caught the scent of a human, and went after it. I was able to catch her and stop her, but then she lost it. She was putting off so much fear, and kept muttering that she was 'sorry', then her emotions flipped, and she was feeling curiousness, affection, and love. I picked her up and brought her back here." I backed away from the sofa, and went to lean in the doorway, out of the way.

Carlisle nodded, and turned back to Isabella. "Isabella?"

She started and opened her eyes looking at Carlisle. Her emotions were all over the place, annoyance, confusion, alarm.

"Isabella, what happened?"

She looked around the room for a moment, before her eyes landed on me and stayed there. I listened while she gave Carlisle pretty much the same story I had.

"...and then there was this little girl, _my _little girl. I was remembering all sorts of things, events, little moments, but that was it, no name nothing like that."

I spoke up, "Abigail, her name is Abigail."

"Where is she? What happened to her?" Isabella asked franticly.

"We don't know, we _think _she's with her father. We were actually hoping you could tell us." Carlisle said. She turned to look at Carlisle.

Her emotions went from thoughtful, to fear, to shear terror and panic within two seconds. She jumped up from the sofa, "_Mon Dieu! _We have to get her out of there!"

"What? What's the matter? Do you remember what happened?" Carlisle asked.

Her eyes got a far off look and her emotions were flipping around so much, it was completely overwhelming. I almost missed it when she whispered, "It was him."

Carlisle and I were both confused. Him? Him who?

"My husband, he did it."

I would kill him myself. I was going to rip the bastard apart. I was dangerously close to loosing it at that very second, so I grabbed a hold of the door, trying to anchor myself to _something_ so I didn't completely lose it and fly into a rage right there. I told myself to focus on Isabella, I didn't want to scare her, like I surely would if I started breaking everything within reach. The pain and fear coming off of her made me cringe and tighten my hold on the door. Mistake. The wood disintegrated beneath my fingers.

Isabella spun around to look at me with wide frightened eyes. I must have looked insane standing there, but I was frozen in place, my arm hanging in mid air, splintered pieces of wood everywhere.

My chest was heaving with unneeded heavy breaths, and I tried to find my voice. After a few moments I managed to growl out, "Your..._husband_...did...that...to...you?"

"YES!" she screamed, "Now do you understand? We have to go get her! We have to get her away from that monster!"

She spun back around as Carlisle tried to explain to her why Abigail couldn't come here. My mind was still reeling with rage. How could a husband do that to his wife? How could someone do that to another person period? My god, just thinking about the extent of her injuries when we found her made me see red. I knew that if I had some one as wonderful and beautiful as Isabella for my wife, I would worship the very ground she walked on.

I noticed Carlisle trying to catch my eye over Isabella's shoulder. Oh, right, I should be trying to calm her down. I sent out some major calm vibes, but Isabella glared at me and growled, "_Arrete_," and I immediately let up. She turned back around and began arguing with Carlisle again.

"…"If you won't help me, then I'll go get her myself." She spun around and marched up to me, "Move Jasper." Was she crazy? Did she hear anything Carlisle just said. I shook my head no and crossed my arms over my chest, letting her know that I wasn't moving.

"I said move," she growled.

I tried pleading, "Please, don't do this, please, just listen to Carlisle." I had to make her understand. I knew that she would never forgive herself if she hurt her daughter.

She shook her head at me, "I'm sorry, I can't do that."

I began sending out waves of calm, lethargy, and peacefulness. If I could just get her to calm down enough for her to listen rationally… I felt her start to crumble, but then there was a burst of resolve, and she straightened, glaring at me. What. The. Hell. She just completely shook off my power. How did she do that?

My arms fell limply to my sides in alarm, and I muttered, "How?" The next thing I knew I was flying through the air, crashing into the wall on the opposite side of the hallway. I saw Isabella streak down the hall, throw open the set of doors at the very end, and launch herself over the balcony railing. I jumped to my feet to chase after her, but Carlisle clamped a hand down on my shoulder. I snapped my head around to look first at his hand, then turning my glare to his calm, even face.

"Just let her go, son," Carlisle said.

"What the hell do you mean let her go!" I raged.

"Exactly that, let her go. If you stop her now, she might not ever forgive you or any of us."

"But what if-"

"Then we will be there to help her and support her," Carlisle said, cutting me off, already knowing what I was going to say.

I shook off his hand, and turned with out another word, walking back to my bedroom. I slammed the door shut behind me, and strode across the room, throwing open the set of doors that occupied the far wall. I stepped out onto the balcony, and leaned against the railing, looking up at the starry night sky. I lifted my left hand and rubbed it across my chest, the tugging was back. What was is about this woman that made me love her already?

Love. Did I even know what it meant to love? I honestly couldn't remember the last time I had felt the emotion first hand, if ever. Sure, I had felt the filtered, left over traces of other peoples love. Carlisle and Esme's, Rosalie's and Emmett's, and Alice loved everyone; but myself, never.

Leading the armies for Maria certainly left no room for the emotion. Anger, rage, greed, and lust were all that I felt for years. The first glimpse of love I could ever remember feeling was when Peter met his Charlotte. It had intrigued me, this newfound emotion, and I found myself drawn to it, which had led to a tentative friendship that strengthened over the years. Friendship; that to had been a new feeling at the time.

When Peter came back to help me escape, years after I had helped him do the same, there had been loneliness. I had simply wandered, alone. The only feelings that broke the loneliness and monotony, were the fear and terror of my victims when I couldn't possibly refrain any longer.

Then I met Alice in a simple, tiny diner in Philadelphia. At first I didn't know what this deranged little sprite wanted from me, did she want me to lead armies for her like Maria had? Did she want me to help her take down some large coven? I was completely thrown for a loop when I realized that she didn't want _anything _from me, not really. She just wanted me to go with her to find this strange coven that she called a _family_.

When she described the Cullens to me, I truly thought she was insane. Survive without hunting humans? Ahh, but to be able to settle in one place for years at a time, not to just wander aimlessly. That was when I began to feel the first flickers of hope, and emotion that had escaped me for more than seventy years.

We traveled for almost two years, trying to find the Cullens. Over that time a bond grew between Alice and I. It wasn't romantic by any means, more familial. When we finally found them, their emotions completely blew me away. I didn't know that vampires could love and care for one another so much. It made me nervous. I just _knew _they had to have some ulterior motive.

But love? Real actually honest-to-God _love? _I had no fucking clue what to do with it. Do I just tell her? No, that would probably just scare her, especially after what that pathetic excuse for a man did to her.

I would have to talk to Carlisle about it. Carlisle would know what to do. After all, he loved Esme so completely, he would be able to give me some advice coming from first hand experience.

I broke out of my reverie just as the sun started to rise. Isabella had been gone for hours. I slowly straightened from the railing, and turned and walked back into the bedroom, leaving the doors wide open. I walked around the room aimlessly, finally just dropping down on the bed. I closed my eyes and thought of Isabella. The way her long dark hair floated in the breeze, the way her eyes lit up when she smiled. And I knew for a damn fact that I _would _make her smile again. My imagination became so real, I could swear I was smelling her scent float around my bedroom.

The wind began to blow, and I heard something rustle next to the open doors. Someone was standing there, watching me. Trying to sneak up on me? I knew those damn Cullens had ulterior motives. Probably Edward, I thought as my eyes snapped open, and I sprang from the bed, whirling around to confront my would-be attacker.

Isabella was leaning in the door frame, watching me in terror. Wait? No attack? Shit, this was the second time in one night that I must have looked insane to her.

I let out a relived breath, she came back, the tugging was gone, and everything would be alright, one way or another.

"Isabella," I let her name roll off my tongue, "I was so worried, what happened?"

When she told me that she wanted to kill her daughter, but resisted, the pain and shame came rolled off her. I took some of her pain, and brought it into myself, I couldn't let her suffer alone. I crossed to where she was had crumpled to the ground, and pulled her into my arms. She stiffened for a fraction of a second, and the fear began to make its way to the surface again, but she pushed it down, and leaned into my arms, feeling comforted.

After a few moments, she pulled away, and stood awkwardly, murmuring her thanks. I was still on my knees in front of her, and quickly stood, because I was suddenly reminded of other thing's one could do on their knees, _questions _one could ask. _Slow down, Whitlock! You just met the woman, you can't ask her to marry you! Yet._

"Do you want to talk to Carlisle now?" I asked.

She nodded and I led her out of the room, and down the hall to Carlisle's office. She stopped me right outside the room, "Wait," she said, looking at the wall she had broken, "I'm sorry."

I waved it off, giving her a small smile, "Don't worry about it, I've had worse." If only you knew. She nodded slowly, and began examining my scars, which made me uncomfortable, so I quickly ushered her through the empty doorway.

"Ah- Isabella," Carlisle said when we walked through the door, sighing in relief.

Carlisle sat and listened patently as I told him what Isabella told me about what happened when she went back for Abigail, then I listened while he answered her questions about our kind. We discussed training her, building up her resistance to blood, so that she could eventually be around Abigail. Her hope was contagious, and I felt it infecting me. My little happy bubble burst with the mention of Edward's name.

"…he and Jasper had a little disagreement," Carlisle was saying, and I couldn't help the snarl that ripped through my lips. "And how will they be able to tell if she's safe?" Isabella asked.

"Edward has a special talent," Carlisle said, "he can read minds. He will be able to read your husband's and daughter's minds and make sure that she is not being harmed. Would you like me to call them in here?"

She shook her head yes.

Carlisle raised his head, "Emmett, Edward, could you come in here please?"

A few moments later they both stepped into the room. I gauged everyone's emotions. Isabella was feeling a bit of curiosity on top of her lingering sadness and concern over her daughter. Edward was projecting his usual smugness, but it was layered with desire and lust as he looked Isabella over. My eyes narrowed into slits as I glared at him.

Carlisle was making the introductions and I saw Isabella wince. I shifted my eyes from Edward to her, "What's wrong?" I asked.

"My name," she answered, "I don't want to be called 'Isabella Andrews', it reminds me of Robert too much." So that was the name of the soon-to-be-dead bastard. Good to know.

"Well, then what do you want to be called, darlin'?" Darlin? What the hell is the matter with me? Was I _trying _to scare her away?

She faltered for a moment, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye, "How about Bella? Bella, Bella,"

"How about Bella Whitlock?" Where the hell did that come from? Genius, Whitlock, Genius, you've known the woman all of what four days, three of those she spent writhing in absolute agony, and then you go asking her to take your last name. What the hell was the matter with me? I've turned into a bumbling idiot. But I still couldn't help but stare at her in anticipation, and I knew that my eyes had gone all gooey.

She turned to face me fully, "Bella Whitlock sounds good," she squeaked. Wow, she wanted to take my last name. Wow. _Don't read to much into it._

Someone cleared their throat, and we both turned around to face Carlisle. He was grinning at us, and was just radiating happiness. He gave me a little wink, and I couldn't keep the satisfied smile off my face.

"Okay, Emmett and Edward have agreed to go to your house and check things out," he said to Isabella. Well, I guess we missed a whole conversation. "In the meantime, Bella, would you like to maybe take a bath and change out of your clothes?" Mmmm…Bella in a deep tub, covered in nothing but bubbles…_cut it out!_

Alice had streaked into the room, grabbed Bella, and zoomed out again, leaving the four of us staring in their wake. "Okay," Carlisle said, "I want you two to go to Bella's house, and make sure that the girl is safe. Edward, I want you to get a read on the husband too, I want to know just what kind of a monster we are dealing with here."

They both nodded and left the room, leaving Carlisle and I alone.

"Carlisle? Can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course," he said, settling back in his chair.

"I'm in love with Bella," I blurted out.

He flashed a brilliant smile, "I suspected as much," he said.

"Well, what the hell do I do about it? I mean I've only known her what four days now? I don't understand this emotion at all," I said, leaning back, and resting my head on the back of the chair.

"Well, with your past, its completely understandable that this would scare you-"

"I'm not scared," I mumbled.

"-and even if it's only been four days, what does that matter? I fell in love with Esme the moment I saw her, that's usually the way it happens with vampires and their mates. As for what you should do about it, you do nothing. Just let it take it's own course, Bella, from what she tells us, has had a traumatic past, and not many good experiences with men, so you will have to be patient. Don't pressure her, don't push her. Wait for her to trust you, and if she really is your mate, then her love will develop on it's own. I speak from personal experience here. You may not know this, but Esme was in an abusive marriage when she was human. It took her a long time to trust me, to trust anyone. And I think that you of all people would understand trust issues," he finished with a bemused smirk.

I lifted my head, and smiled sheepishly.

"Tell me," Carlisle said, "do you have this strange tugging sensation, right around here, when you're away from her?" he asked. My head shot up, and I saw him rubbing the center of his chest.

"How did you know?" I asked incredulously.

His smirk grew into another full on smile, "I felt the same thing right before I found Esme. It only went away when we were finally together, but I still feel it some times when she's away from me, hunting and such. I don't know if it's a mate thing or what," he said.

I was distracted by the huge waves of mirth coming from the direction of the bathroom. I went on and on and on, until it dissolved into anguish. I leapt out of my seat and ran down the hall, stopping just outside the bathroom door, my hand on the handle. I heard Alice and Rosalie comforting Bella on the other side.

"It _will _be okay, Bella," I heard Alice whisper, "I can promise you that. Now lean back and let me wash your hair." I let go of the knob, and walked back to Carlisle's office to wait for Emmett and Edward to return.

I watched Bella as they made their report, keeping an eye on her emotions. The flipped from fear to pain to anger to concern to relief through out the conversation.

When she learned that an aunt was living there taking care of Abigail, the relief and love that was coming off her was palpable, but then it was tinged by sadness, and I knew exactly what she was thinking. I moved closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. I noticed Edward leave the room out of the corner of my eye.

"You will get your daughter back, Bella, I can promise you that. Whatever I have to do, I swear, you will have her in your arms again." I whispered.

She clung to me for a few moments before pulling away again. There was a light knock on the doorframe, and Esme stuck her head in.

"Could I steal Bella for a little while?" she asked.

I looked at Bella and she looked at me, our eyes met briefly, and then she rose and followed Esme out the door. I watched her go, then turned back to Carlisle, "I'm going to go talk to Edward."

Carlisle stood, "I don't want any fighting," he said.

"I'm not going to start anything, I just want to talk to him."

Seconds later I was knocking on the door that led to his attic bedroom.

"Come in Jasper," he called out.

I pushed the door open, stepping into the room, and pulled it shut behind me. Edward was lounging lazily on the leather sofa that was the focal point of his bedroom, a book in his hand.

"What do you want?" he said, sparing me a glance, before turning his attention back to the pages. "I want to know what all this attitude is about," I said, "I mean your being an even bigger ass than usual."

"I can't read her," was all he said.

"What?"

"Her thoughts, I can't read her thoughts, and it's annoying me."

Was he kidding me? That's it? "Well, could you rein in the holier-than-thou attitude a bit? By the way, what the hell was with all of the lust and desire you were putting off earlier?"

"What can I say? She's sexier than hell."

Oh, _fuck _no, "Don't even think about it, I will tear your ass apart."

"I'd like to see you try."

Now he had to be kidding me. I drew myself up to my full height, and stalked across the room to him, putting on the face that I usually reserved for dealing with newborns. I snatched the book from his hands, forcing him to look at me, "Don't push me, _Eddie_, don't forget where I come from," I hissed in his face. His eyes were guarded and wary, and I couldn't keep the smirk of my face, as I turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind me.

_Mon Dieu_: My God

_Arrete_: Stop


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**Bella's P.O.V.**

I pulled away from Jasper when I heard the light knock on the door frame. I glanced over to see Esme stick her head through the empty doorway, "Could I steal Bella for a little while?" she asked sweetly.

I caught myself looking to Jasper for permission, I held his gaze for a few moments before reminding myself that I didn't _have_ to ask for permission anymore. I quickly rose and followed Esme out of the office, and down the long sweeping staircase. Not a word was spoken as she led me through a set of open double doors to the left of the entryway.

My eyes scanned the room quickly, taking in my surroundings. The walls were lined with windows, covered only in airy white curtains that billowed in the breeze. The walls themselves were paneled in a dark stained wood, that directly contrasted with the white curtains and the open airiness of the room.

"Please, Bella, sit down," Esme said, bringing my attention back to her. She was perched gracefully on the edge of a flowered sofa, its elegant legs and arms the same shade of wood as the walls. I sat awkwardly in one of the two matching chairs that were to the right and left of the sofa, grouped around a large coffee table, made up of the same wood. I turned my focus back to the room, and noticed that there were more plants and flowers situated on low tables underneath the windows.

The loud gong of a clock made me start and grasp one of the arms of the chair, which broke off into my hand. I looked at the piece of wood horrified, then at Esme. She didn't seem upset, she was merely gazing at me with a slight smile on her face.

"I am so sorry," I stammered.

"It's quite alright dear, I'll have one of the boys fix it later," she said kindly.

I nodded and sunk back into my chair, staring at my knees intently.

"I wanted to speak with you alone," Esme began, making me once more focus my attention on her, "to let you know that you can come and talk to me any time that you feel the need. I know that we have only met, but if you need to speak with someone about what happened, all you need to do is ask."

"Thank you, Esme," I responded, recovering my manners, and sitting up in my chair, "but as of right now, I'm just not ready to talk to anyone yet. Please don't take offense, but as you said I just met you, perhaps over time…" I let myself trail off, not wanting to promise anything.

"Of course dear, I understand, and I won't pressure you. Just remember that my offer doesn't have an expiration date," Esme said, rising from her seat, "Now I'm going to go see about a replacement door for Carlisle's office."

I hung my head at her words, still embarrassed by my actions earlier. I looked up at her when she patted my shoulder on her way out of the room, looking down at me, "Don't be ashamed dear, we all have our moments when we are young," she leaned down, "I put Carlisle through a window when I first woke up," she whispered. I covered my mouth to stop the giggle that threatened to bubble up at the thought of sweet Esme throwing someone out a window. She winked at me and continued on out the door.

I sat and looked around at the beautiful room for a few moments, before rising, and leaving the room. I paused outside of the room. _Well, what do I do now?_ I thought to myself. The only other rooms of the house that I had been in were Jasper's bedroom, the bathroom, Carlisle's office, and the room that I had woken up in. I had no desire to go back to Carlisle's office, and I had already bathed, and I really, really didn't want to go back to the room that had been my torture chamber for three days.

The entire time that I had been thinking, I didn't notice that I had begun walking, and a few seconds later I found myself outside of the open door to Jasper's bedroom. Shrugging to myself, I entered the room, and stood there looking around for a few moments. I noticed that the balcony doors were still open, so I crossed the room, and stepped outside. The balcony was a small semi-circle, with short benches on the right and left sides. The railing went around the entire thing, connecting with the house at the ends. I made my way to the bench on the right and sat down, seeing for the first time the red roses that grew up the sides of the house, the greenery snaking its way up the trellises attached to the clapboard.

I absently picked one of the red blooms, while swinging on leg up on the bench, resting my chin on my knee, letting the other foot rest on the ground. I shifted my gaze upward, and noticed that the sky today was a perfect bowl of blue, with tiny little cotton clouds dotted here and there. The bright, yellow sun reflected off of the surface of the bayou that wrapped around the back of the house, causing it to glitter and ripple. Twirling the blossoming red flower between my fingers, I thought to myself, _Dieu,_ _have you ever seen such a beautiful sight?_ The only thing that could make this any more perfect would be having Abigail here to share this with me. I missed my little girl like crazy.

I felt my little bubble of contentment pop. How can I be feeling this happy, when I don't even know what's happening to Abigail. The guilt began to set in. They said that she was alright, _c'est vrai _but how could I know for sure. I knew first hand what Robert could do, and although our beloved _tante _is there, she was getting up there in years, and couldn't defend Abigail if it came down to it.

I felt myself begin to panic as I drew in short, gasping, unneeded breaths. All of a sudden, my panic began to recede, and I was wrapped in a blanket of calm and tranquility. I looked up, and saw Jasper standing in the doorway.

**Jasper's P.O.V.**

I slammed the door to Edward's bedroom shut, and stomped down the stairs to the second floor landing. _The nerve of that little brat!_ I thought to myself. _Couldn't he see that I cared for Bella? Where was the brotherly loyalty?_ I stopped short. I hadn't exactly shown Edward any loyalty either. From the moment I met him, I looked down on him, dismissing him as a spoiled child. I heaved a great sigh, _maybe,_ I thought with a growl, _if I put in a little effort, he'll back off._ As much as the idea of trying to get along with Edward made me shudder, I figured I had to at least try.

I made my way to my bedroom, stopping just outside the door. Someone was in there, I felt vibes of contentment and happiness from within, and took a deep breath to identify who it was. _Bella_.

I stepped silently through the door, and looked around the bedroom, empty. Then I heard a small sigh from the balcony. I made my way over to the open doors and looked out.

There she was, sitting on one of the benches, one leg pulled up, twirling a red rose between her fingers, looking at the sky. _Have you ever seen such a beautiful sight?_ I thought to myself. Her long dark hair was waving down her back, and the long beautiful fingers of one hand held the flower, as the other one rested on the thigh of her left leg.

I leaned against the open door, content to just watch her, when her fingers stilled and her happy feelings vanished, as waves of guilt seemed to roll off her. Her brow furrowed, and I was left dumbstruck by the intensity of her emotions. I could feel great waves of hysteria and panic mix with the guilt, and she began to gasp like she couldn't catch her breath. Impossible for a vampire. Her emotions nearly brought me to my knees, but I pulled myself together, and bombarded her with calm and tranquility.

Her breathing slowed, and her face smoothed out as she turned to look at me standing in the doorway. That sadness was back in her eyes, and I couldn't help but go to her. I crouched down next to where she was sitting.

"Bella, darlin', what happened? What's wrong?" I asked, placing my hands on the seat of the white bench on either side of her.

"I-I was just thinking about Abigail, and how much I miss her, and I don't know what's happening to her, and-" she was starting to panic again, so I sent her another blast of peaceful feelings, and she gave me a grateful smile

"I know, I know, but like I promised you before, I'm gonna do whatever I have to do to make things safe for her to be here and around all of us," I said.

"I know, Jasper, and thank you," she said quietly, and the sound of my name coming from her lips was sweeter than any song.

"But right now," I told her, "I think that we need to plan a hunting trip, because you need more blood, unless you want to hunt gator's again?" I asked her teasing, trying to lighten the mood. I had to laugh at the face she made at that, and she shook her head quickly.

"Where will we go?" she asked.

"Well, we've been going up to southern Arkansas, to the Ozark Mountains, there are plenty of white tailed deer up there. It's about a two hour run from here."

"Run? Deer? Oh, are we going to kill deer?" she asked, finishing in a sad voice.

"Come, now, Bella, surely you've eaten deer before, and this isn't really any different, just…fresher. And yes we will run, now that you don't get physically tired anymore, you could run for days if you wanted to."

She gave me a little nod, and a half smile, and I couldn't help but reach up and cup her cheek. She began to stiffen as my hand made its way to her face, and she winced and leaned away from me when our skin made contact. I dropped my hand, and all traces of humor left me. The fear that she had been putting off faded, and she smiled at me apologetically.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's okay, don't worry about it," I said, trying to keep my tone light.

She looked away from me, back to the sky, while I kept watching her face. As soon as we had Abigail safe with us, I was going after the bastard that did this to her. I wouldn't draw his death out, he wasn't worth it, but he would die.

"Jasper?" Bella asked.

"Hmmm?"

"I want to see Abigail before we leave."

I began to protest, but she cut me off, "I just want to make sure she's alright, see her with my own eyes. You can be with me the whole time, just to make sure, but I _have _to see her. _Please."_

Dear Lord, she was begging. I looked into her pleading eyes, and I knew that I could not deny her anything. "All right, but I will be there restraining you, and controlling your emotions," I told her.

The relief was clear on her face and in her emotions, "_Merci_."

I sighed and stood, "I have to go talk to Carlisle now, let him know of our plans tonight, and that we will be leaving in the morning to hunt," I said.

She nodded, "I think that I will stay out here for a while, if you don't mind."

"Of course not, what's mine is yours," I told her with a little grin, turning around and leaving the room.

I walked down the hall to Carlisle's office, and found him fitting a new door into the frame. "I heard your conversation, and I don't think that tonight is a good idea," he said, his voice muffled around the nails he was holding in his mouth.

"I know, Carlisle, but I will be with her the whole time, and she was _begging_ me." He gave me a knowing smile. "You're hooked," he said smugly.

"Am not," I said petulantly, knowing he was right, "So if you heard our conversation, then you know what the plans are for tomorrow as well?"

He nodded, "Yes, the rest of the family will be coming with you, and that includes Edward," he said with a stern look.

"Yeah, yeah, well, I've recently decided to make an effort where he is concerned. I figure that maybe if I put in a little effort to get along, then he will to."

"My, my how you've changed," Carlisle said, interrupting my muttering of, "Although I still think he's a whiny brat."

Carlisle let out a bark of laughter, "Well, maybe not that much, now go on, take Bella to see her daughter," he said waving me off.

"Jasper?" he said, as I was walking away.

I turned around halfway, and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Don't let her do anything that she will regret," Carlisle said.

I nodded once and continued down the hall.

After night fell, Bella and I made our way to her old home. We climbed a large old cypress that was still some distance away, but close enough that we could see into Abigail's bedroom window. Bella sat down on a high branch, and I sat behind her, legs swinging on either side.

I leaned forward, "Now Bella, I'm going to wrap my arms around your waist so that if your bloodlust gets out of control, I already have a hold of you, okay?" She nodded quickly, and I slowly moved my arms so they were firmly circled around her waist. The skin of her stomach was soft and warm against my arms, not the fever hot of a human, but normal, the same temperature as me.

Bella began to tense as the scent and sound of human blood washed over us, and I sent her a little wave of calm, and felt her relax. Her breathing became shallow as she gazed through the window at her little girl, and I felt her love and longing.

I leaned forward and rested my chin on her shoulder, "You know, this would be a good way to build up your resistance," I said to her, "We could come here, and you could breathe in her scent, and once you're comfortable being this far away, we would move a little closer, until you aren't tempted at all."

I heard her breath catch, and hope began to rise within her, "We could come here every night," she whispered, and I nodded, my chin still on her shoulder.

Now I just had to remind myself to concentrate on keeping Bella calm, and not how good and right it felt to have my arms wrapped around her, how it felt to be pressed up against her… I had to stop that train of thought before my little man down there stood to attention, making Bella rudely aware of my feelings.

We sat there all night, and as the sun began to peek over the horizon, Bella sighed, knowing it was time to go. She scooted forward on the branch, and looked at me over her shoulder. I flashed her a grin, "C'mon darlin', lets go do some real hunting."

Glossary:

_Dieu: _God

_c'est vrai:_that's true

_tante: _aunt

_Merci: _Thank You


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

**Bella P.O.V.**

I remained out on Jasper's balcony until the sun completely set. I was just beginning to wonder where he was, when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked over, and there was Jasper, leaning against the open door again, watching me.

"Are you ready to go, darlin'?" Jasper asked.

I nodded my head yes, and he smiled brightly, taking one step towards the railing of the balcony, before leaping gracefully over the edge. I rushed over, and looked down to the ground. He was standing there with that huge smile on his face, waving me down.

"C'mon Bella, jump down," he hollered up to me.

With a small smile of my own, I climbed up onto the railing, and simply stepped off, my hands holding on to my skirt so it wouldn't fly up. I landed next to Jasper, and he held out his hand for me to take. I stared at it for about five seconds, before tentatively reaching out and grasping it with my own. He gave my fingers a little squeeze, and we took off at a run towards my old home.

I didn't think that I would ever get used to the exhilaration and excitement of running like this. It was simply amazing, where my surroundings should have been blurred from the speed, I could see everything in amazing detail. Every rock, every plant, every insect, I could see every facet of a fly's eye as I raced past it, I could see a mosquito on the back of a squirrel, it's stinger drawing blood. Maybe it would it be better to ignore the mosquito's.

We slowed as we approached the back of the house, and I dropped Jasper's hand as I moved toward a tree that was a good twenty feet away. I coiled the muscles in my legs, and leapt from the ground, grabbing a hold of a thick branch. Then, I swung like a monkey, higher and higher, until I was close to the top. I balanced perfectly as I walked across the branch, sitting down once I was close to the end. I felt Jasper climbing up, joining me, as he lowered himself down to sit behind me.

He was very close when he leaned forward whispering in my ear, "Now Bella, I'm going to wrap my arms around your waist so that if your bloodlust gets out of control, I already have a hold of you, okay?" I nodded quickly, then his hands were at my sides, sliding across my stomach so that his arms completely encased my waist. My breath caught, but I was distracted by the sweet scent of what I now recognized as human blood. My entire body tensed as I prepared to leap down from the tree, but then Jasper sent me a wave of calm and I relaxed again.

I had a clear view into Abigail's bedroom, and though we were some distance away, I could see as clearly as if I was standing not a foot away. My angel was sound asleep, curled on her side with her flowered quilt tucked around her. I focused on her even breathing; in, out, in, out. Her hands were pressed together under her rosy cheek, and her mouth was open slightly. Her long raven black hair fanned out across the pillow, and I knew in that moment that I had never wanted anything more than to hold her, to sit next to her and watch her, like I did when she was an infant.

Jasper leaned forward and rested his chin on my shoulder. I had to squash the wave of desire that fell over me as his sweet breath brushed across my cheek, and he whispered in my ear, his lips against my hair, "You know, this would be a good way to build up your resistance. We could come here, and you could breathe in her scent, and once you're comfortable being this far away, we would move a little closer, until you aren't tempted at all."

I thought over his words, I could see Abigail every night, while at the same time making it safe for her to be around me again. I could feel the hope swell in my chest, and I knew that Jasper could feel it too. "We could come here every night," I whispered and felt him nod his head against my shoulder.

I turned my attention back to the window, _don't worry bebe, we'll be together again soon._

We stayed like that for the rest of the night, Jasper's arms wrapped around my waist, chin resting on my shoulder, and my eyes riveted to the little girl resting peacefully in her bed. As the sun began to rise, I sighed and scooted away from Jasper, turning to look at him over my shoulder. He smiled at me, the increasing light glittering off his teeth, and said, "C'mon, darlin', let's go do some real hunting."

I was actually looking forward to our hunting trip, the burn in my throat had increased, and I was just excited over the whole prospect. Me being the hunter instead of the prey, actually having control for once in my life. I swung my left leg over the branch, and slid off landing neatly on the ground below. About half a second later, Jasper landed next to me, and I flashed him a smile, "Race you back," I said, taking off.

I felt lighter, more carefree and let my laughter trail behind me when I heard Jasper struggling to catch up. I ran so fast my feet barley touched the ground, and had run the good six miles home in minutes. I stopped on the porch, and clasped my hands in front of me, waiting patiently. A couple of minutes later, Jasper came running into view, a grin plastered on his face, coming to a halt next to me.

"What took you so long?" I asked sweetly. His grin just grew wider, and he stepped closer to me to where his chest was touching my arm. Irrational fear over took me for a few moments before I shook it off, but it was enough for me to step away from him. His smile faded and he simply stepped forward again.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Bella," he said quietly.

"I know that," I said.

Thankfully, he let it go. That was something that I just wasn't ready to deal with yet. We were quiet for a few minutes, just standing on the front porch, each lost in our own thoughts, and then Jasper said, "C'mon, let's get ready to go." He flashed me a half hearted smile, and held out his hand. I took it once more, and followed him into the house. We made our way up the stairs, and into Jasper's bedroom. I was surprised to see an outfit laid out on the bed that looked to be my size.

I walked over and picked it up, turning to Jasper with an inquisitive look. He simply shrugged and said, "Alice." I opened my mouth to respond to this, but instead returned his shrug and said, "I'm going to go across the hall and change, I'll be right back." He nodded and turned his attention to his closet, already pulling clothes out.

I left the room, and walked swiftly across the hallway into the bathroom, pulling the door shut behind me. I put the set of clothes down on the stool that Rosalie had occupied while I was taking my bath, and stripped out of my soiled skirt and blouse. Moving across the room, I caught the reflection of myself in the mirror. I stood there in shock. I hadn't really looked at myself since I woke up, but there was no way this beautiful creature could be me.

Her legs were long and lean, stomach flat and taught. Her breasts were perfectly round, her long chestnut hair shone under the lights. I looked down at myself, and sure enough saw the same thing that was reflected in the mirror. I traced my fingers over the scar above my left breast. If the rest of me was perfect now, why did the scars remain? I glanced back up to the mirror at my face and was momentarily horrified. My eyes were blood red. Hideously, monstrously red. I ran my fingers underneath my eyes, brushing at the dark purple bruise like marks underneath. None of the others had red eyes, I thought to myself. I would have to ask Jasper later. Tearing my eyes away from the mirror, I moved over to the clothes that Alice had set out for me. I picked up two separate pieces, and held them up. There was a plain red blouse, and what looked to be men's pants, but were cut off at the knees. Shrugging my shoulders, I set them back down, and slipped on the clean undergarments, before sliding the clothes on. I felt rather exposed. I had only worn dresses and skirts before, and would have to ask Alice about the pants.

I balled up my dirty clothes and stuffed them into a wicker hamper in the corner of the room, then went back across the hallway to Jasper's bedroom. The door was still cracked open a bit, so I pushed it open a little wider, and froze. Jasper was sitting on his bed with his back towards me, wearing a pair of blue jeans, and nothing else. The muscles in his naked back bunched and flexed when he bent down to put socks on his feet before sliding his boots on. I saw that the scars that I had previously noticed on his neck and arms continued down his back, and wrapped around his sides. There were thousands of them. I was neither repulsed nor fearful of them though, merely curious.

Jasper, either feeling the rush of desire or my spike of curiosity, slowly stood, and turned to face me. The sight of his bare chest left me breathless, and I almost let out a little moan of displeasure when he quickly pulled a black T-shirt over his head. Smirking slightly, he moved past me, pushing the door all of the way open, and gestured for me to go first. I brushed past him quickly, and practically flew down the stairs to find the entire family converged in the entry way.

"Hey, Bella, do you like the clothes?" Alice asked me from beside the door.

"They're great, thanks. But I'm not to sure about these pants?" I replied.

Alice giggled, "Rose, Esme, and I discovered that it was much easier to hunt in them than in a skirt. Besides there are women in other parts of the country that wear them all the time," she said, prancing towards me with a pair of black flats that she had had hidden somewhere. I slid them on my feet, then followed everyone out the door.

"Now the rest of us know the way, but Bella, you'll need to stay with someone at all times, okay?" Carlisle asked. I nodded my agreement, and we all took off, heading north.

I soon discovered that I was faster than everyone but Edward, whose pace easily matched mine. I didn't really like running with him, but I didn't want to slow down, so I paid more attention to my surroundings than my present company. He didn't try to speak to me, he just ran about a foot behind me and three feet to my left. We kept to the trees, and ran so fast that if anyone happened to catch a glimpse of us, they would think that it was just a trick of light.

Time passed quickly, and before I knew it Edward said, "We can wait here for the others." I came to a sudden halt, and turned around to look at him, standing about ten feet behind me. His look was intense as he watched me, his eyes boring into mine. I was getting a little uncomfortable, so I tore my gaze from his and sat down on a tree that had fallen in the middle of the forest. I could feel Edward still watching me, but I didn't look at him, instead studying the trees and wild life around me.

"We can go ahead and get started you know," Edward said after a few minutes.

"I would rather wait for Jasper, thank you," I said, still not looking at him. I heard him sigh, and move to lean against the trunk of a tree, the rough bark chipping off underneath his shoulder. A few minutes later the others came running into the little clearing that Edward and I had stopped in, and Jasper was at my side immediately. He sat down next to me on the tree, and I unconsciously moved towards him.

"We'll all meet back here when we're done, okay?" Carlisle asked. Everyone nodded their agreement, and I heard Rosalie say, "Come on Emmett."

Emmett was bouncing on the balls of his feet watching me with excitement, "But I want to watch Bella," he said.

"Emmett," Rosalie said in a warning tone. Emmett stopped bouncing and hung his head, "Fine," he said to his wife, and followed her into the forest. Jasper stood, and held out his hand gesturing with his head that we should go.

I stood up, taking his hand, and saw Edward move as if to follow us. Jasper must have noticed this too, because he stopped, and turned to glare in Edward's direction, shaking his head no. Alice danced over to Edward and tugged on his arm, "C'mon Eddie, let's go hunt."

Edward grimaced, but followed Alice, and then we were finally off. We headed north-west out of the clearing, and ran for a few minutes before Jasper stopped and turned to me, "Do you hear it?" he whispered. I listened intently, and I could hear the sound of hoofed feet clomping on the soft forest floor. It was about fifty feet away, but I could still hear the blood pumping through its veins, and the burn in my throat flared up at the sound. I looked at Jasper with hunger in my eyes, and he said, "Go get it," and released my hand. I turned in the direction of the sound, and saw a lone deer grazing in between two tall trees. I sank into a crouch, and took off, reaching it in a matter of seconds. It didn't have time to register alarm before I was on it, jumping on the deer's back, causing it's legs to splay out underneath of it. I could hear bones crunching, but I was focused on the soft side of its neck where I could see the blood pumping erratically. I didn't waste time, biting into its neck, the deer's blood spurting into my mouth in time with its fading heart beats. It slid smoothly down my throat, but did little to slake my thirst. I finished in seconds, and jumped back, wiping my mouth on the back of my hand.

I turned to Jasper who had been watching me quietly, "I need more," I said. He flashed me a smile, and said, "Well, then go get more." I moved a couple of feet away and closed my eyes, listening, and breathing deeply. I could sense more to the east, three of them, and I was off in a flash.

After I had drained my fourth deer, I was finally full, the blood sloshing around in my stomach. I looked down at myself and saw that I was covered in blood and mud, and I wished that I had brought a change of clothes. Something to remember for next time. Something wet dripped onto my forehead, and I looked up as it began to rain. Jasper came up behind me, "My turn," he said, closing his eyes, his stance reminding me of my own moments ago. He opened his eyes, and gestured for me to follow him as he darted south.

I perched in a tree as Jasper found a herd of six, and watched him hunt. He was lithe and graceful, taking each of them down swiftly, rain soaking his hair and through his shirt, making it cling to his sculpted body. He didn't spill a drop as he tore into their throats, and he had finished the herd in minutes. He stood and looked up at me, smiling again before he climbed up to sit in front of me. Rain drops dripped from his wet hair down the side of his neck and onto the tip of his nose. I noticed that his eyes weren't as rust colored anymore, more of a topaz like the others. My breath caught when he slid closer to me, so that our knees were touching. His eyes were locked on mine, then flickered down to my lips and back up. He leaned forward, and I found myself leaning closer to him. _What am I doing?! _I screamed at myself. His eyes flickered closed as he lessened the distance between us, but I leaned back, instead whispering, "Why are my eyes different?" _Where the hell did that come from? Mon Dieu, I'm an idiot._ Jasper froze, then leaned back his eyes snapping open to look at me incredulously.

"_Je suis desolee," _I whispered, reverting to my native language, looking down when he continued to stare at me.

"I don't speak French," he said, his voice gruffer than usual.

"It means I'm sorry," I said, still looking down.

"Hey," he said, reaching up to brush my cheek with his fingertips. I looked up, for once not flinching away from his touch. "You have nothing to be sorry about. I should be apologizing to you, you've had a traumatic week, and then I try to…" he didn't finish his sentence. "But I want you to know, that I like you, _really _like you, but I can be patient," he said, flashing me another one of his brilliant smiles. I returned it shyly, a bit taken aback by his confession. He _liked _me? I was undoubtedly attracted to him, but could that turn into more one day? As we gazed at each other, the rain coming down in torrents around us, I knew that it could. And most likely sooner than later.

Jasper swung one leg over the branch dropping to the ground, and I quickly followed suit. We ran back towards the clearing, and I remembered that he never answered my question.

"You know, you never answered me. Why are my eyes red, and everyone else's more golden?"

"Well, that's because you're a newborn. Your eyes are red because all of your blood is still in your body from when you were human. As you drink more and more animal blood they'll start to turn gold, instead of staying red, as they would with a human drinker."

"Why were yours rust colored when we first met?" I asked him.

He stopped abruptly, and I whirled around to find him looking at the ground in shame. "Because I slipped," he whispered, pouring every ounce of self loathing that he had into his voice, "It was four months, six days ago."

"What do you mean you slipped?" I asked, and he jerked his eyes up to stare at me. _Oh… _"You mean you drank from a human," I said. He nodded, still ashamed, "I had a _very _different…upbringing than the rest of the family, and it's harder for me to be around humans than the others," he said.

"But, last night, you were able to help me with no problem," I said confused.

"Yes, but I'm not sure why that is. Maybe because your daughter is a part of you?" he seemed to say that last part to himself. I stepped closer to him, and rested my palm on his cheek. I could feel the raised, half circles of the scars that ran along his jaw under my hand as I turned his face to look at me.

"I don't think any less of you for 'slipping' as you call it. Is that what you were worried about?" He nodded and closed his eyes. "Well, I don't. I remember the scent of that man on my first night, and I remember the scent of my Abigail, and I couldn't imagine having tasted that for several years, am I correct? You lived like that for several years?" He nodded again. "Tasting that for so long, and then giving it up," I shook my head, "_Non, _I don't think I would be able to do it."

His eyes opened, and he gave me a weak smile, reaching up to put his hand over mine, twining our fingers together, and I felt a wave of gratitude wash over me. He lowered our combined hands, and I gave his a little squeeze, then we started for the clearing again.

_Mon Dieu: _My God.

_Je suis desolee: _I'm sorry.

_Non: _No


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

**Jasper**

Why did I feel like I'm a child about to be reprimanded by a school master? I'm sitting in a chair across from Carlisle's desk, and he's sitting on the other side, appraising me, fingers steepled under his chin.

I had just broached the subject of going to Bella's home and getting some of her things, and some of Abigail's things, thinking it would make Bella more comfortable here. Not to mention Abigail's scent on her belongings would help to build up Bella's resistance. But now, with the way Carlisle was looking at me, I'm wondering if I had just asked the dumbest question on earth.

"Well, I think it's a wonderful idea," Carlisle said a few moments later.

"You do?" I asked a bit surprised.

"Yes, I do," he answered.

"What was with the stare then?"

He just shrugged with a mischievous smile, and I knew that he had been messing with me. Carlisle could be ornery at times, just like the rest of us. It was times like these that reminded me that he really was just a twenty-three year old man. I often forget this fact; he was so responsible and serious most of the time.

I returned his smile, "I'm planning on taking Emmett with me, just in case," I said.

"Just in case? What are you expecting to happen?" he asked.

"Nothing really, I just like to be prepared," I replied, and he nodded his understanding.

I stood and left the room, following the hallway down to my own bedroom, where I found Bella once again sitting on the balcony. She was putting off feelings of longing, love, and anticipation, and I winced because I realized that she was thinking about going to see Abigail tonight, plans that I would have to cancel. I hoped that mine and Emmett's mission would make up for her disappointment.

"Hey," I said, stepping out to stand beside her, leaning against the railing.

"Hey," she said back, "Is it time to go?"

I grimaced, and she of course, noticed.

"What?" she said, her good feelings changing to darker ones.

I closed my eyes, and turned my face away from her, not wanting to see her reaction. It would be bad enough to feel it.

"Um, Bella? We won't be able to go tonight," I said quickly.

"Why?" she asked in a small voice that just broke my heart. She was radiating sadness and disappointment.

"I have something that I have to take care of tonight," I said, still not looking at her. On one hand I wanted to tell her what I was doing, but on the other hand, I wanted it to be a surprise.

"Oh, okay," she said, and I opened my eyes in time to see her leave the balcony, and then disappear from the room. _Jesus, I'm stupid. But damn it, I want to surprise her. _My thoughts were interrupted when, what felt like a soft piece of cotton hit the back of my head. I turned around, leaning over the railing of the balcony, and saw Emmett standing on the ground with a hand full of rocks. That must have been what hit me. I looked at my shoulders, _yep, crushed stone._

"C'mon, man! Let's get this show on the road!" Emmett yelled impatiently.

I laughed, shaking my head at him, then launched myself over the railing, landing smoothly on the ground. "Took you long enough," he said, dropping his rocks and punching me playfully on the arm. Out of all of my 'siblings', I got along with Emmett the best. I'd never forget the first time he tried to wrestle me though. I hadn't known that it was all in fun, and had thought he was trying to attack me. It's a good thing Rosalie and Carlisle stopped me before I took his head off. It saved him from the painful process of fusing back together, and me from guilt.

We headed out at a run, arriving at the small white house in minutes. "I will be so happy when we get Abigail, and Bella never has to see this house again." I said to Emmett.

"Maybe we could burn it," Emmett said. I turned and gave him the 'What are you talking about' eyebrow.

"Ya know, after we get the kid. As a symbolic gesture," he continued, motioning with his arms at the last part.

"A little dramatic don't you think, Em?" I asked amused. He just shrugged as we approached the house, looking for an open window; some point of entry that wouldn't leave a trace.

There was only one small window that was cracked open an inch. It was set high up on the house, but Emmett easily reached up and slid it the rest of the way open. I scaled the side of the house, slipping silently through the window, and stepped through right into the kitchen sink. I climbed out of the sink and off the counter quickly, and turned to watch Emmett struggle to fit his massive frame through the small window.

After a few minutes, we were creeping through the house, and I felt like an over exaggerated villain that appeared in one of the motion pictures Esme insisted we go and see. I looked over at Emmett to find him tip-toeing along, just like the guy in the movie. Exaggerated big steps, hunched over, his arms swinging with every step. I had to clamp a hand over my mouth to stifle the bark of laughter that threatened to explode from my mouth, and I flicked Emmett on the arm, whispering, "Cut it out!"

We followed Bella's scent all over the house, and stopped in front of a plain wooden door; her unique smell was practically oozing from underneath it. I turned the handle slowly, and the door swung open. We both froze as it squeaked, but didn't hear any movement from within the house so we crept into what was obviously a bedroom.

I tried my best to ignore the sleeping form of the man in the bed, really I did, but it felt as if hands were reaching out and grabbing me as I tried to pass by the footboard, making me stop and look at him. He was a large man, taller than me, but not as big as Emmett. He had dark tanned skin, black hair, and I could immediately see where Abigail had inherited her raven locks. This man would tower over Bella, and my mind flashed with unwanted images of the night we had found Bella in the bayou.

I felt the red fury creep into every nerve of my being as the flow of images continued, and a low guttural snarl clawed its way up my throat. Visions, feelings, and the scent of blood from that night slammed into me, mixing with reality, confusing it, overwhelming me. I turned to face the bed, gripping the footboard in both hands, bracing myself on it, trying to get my hold on reality back, however tenuous it might be. I bent down still gripping the wood in my hands, and I felt a hand clamp down onto my shoulder.

"Jasper, man, you need to clam the hell down," I heard someone whisper, but it sounded far away, "you're shaking the whole bed, I'm surprised the bastard hasn't woken up."

I lifted my head to look at the man sleeping peacefully in his bed. He rolled from his side to his back, and I caught a glimmer of light reflect off of his left hand. A wedding band. A purely animalistic growl erupted from me, and I tensed, preparing to leap over the bed frame.

A thick arm banded around my middle, the hand that had been clamped on my shoulder, came down over my mouth, and I was drug from the room. I clawed at my restraints, attempting to break free and destroy the man that had destroyed Bella. We were in the hallway now and I was pushed up against the wall, Emmett in my face.

"Jasper, I'll say it again, calm the hell down, you're going to wake up every person in this house. Including Bella's little girl. Do you think that Bella will ever forgive you if you terrify that kid, or worse, hurt her?"

His words slowly penetrated the fog that had filled my head, and my destructive feelings ebbed. Once I was feeling, well not normal, but at least sane, I shook off Emmett's grip, and turned to face him.

"Why did you stop me?" I asked him, "The son of a bitch deserves it."

"Yes, he does," Emmett said, "but don't you think that honor should be reserved for Bella?"

"Okay, okay, yea I suppose. Why don't you go in there and see if you can find anything of Bella's? I don't think I can without losing it again."

"Alright, man, I'll be out in a minute. You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I said, waving him away.

Emmett slipped into the room again, this time pulling the door shut behind him. He came out five seconds later, empty handed.

"There's nothing in there," he said, "nothing of hers. Everything belongs to the bastard."

Had he gotten rid of her things already? It had only been a little over a week, but it seemed that's exactly what he did. Bastard.

"Well, let's go find Abigail's room. Maybe we can find something for her in there," I whispered. Emmett nodded and followed me to the other end of the hallway and through the door to another bedroom.

We moved silently around the room for a few minutes, but I had no idea what Bella would want, what was special to her. I was rooting through a basket filled with stuffed animals when Emmett nudged my shoulder. I just shook him off, but he just began tapping my shoulder impatiently.

"What!" I whispered whirling around, then I froze.

There, standing in the doorway, was a woman. She had to have been eighty, barely taller than Alice, with wispy white hair falling to her shoulders. Her eyes were a familiar shade of chocolate brown and were set deep into a wrinkled, wizened face. Emmett and I were both frozen in shock, trying to figure out why she hadn't screamed. She was just standing there looking at us. I tested the emotions coming from her, there was no fear, only curiosity, and slight awe. The woman took one step into the room towards us.

"My Isabella is with you, I know it," she said, her voice rising and falling in a distinctly Cajun rhythm, fixing her gaze on me. My mouth fell open in shock as she took another step forward, "I'm Isabella's _tante_, but most everyone calls me Lila." I looked over at Emmett and saw that he was gaping at the woman as well. "What's the matter, cant'cha talk?" she said.

"I'm sorry," I finally managed to say, "not to be rude, but, aren't you afraid?"

She scoffed, she actually scoffed at me. "_Pas du tout, _my Isabella is with you. _Non_, I know you're good."

"And, how do you know that Isabella is with us?" Emmett asked.

She shrugged her stooped shoulders, "I just know. Just like I know she didn't leave here willingly. But that wasn't your doing, no, that was that _pas de couilles_ she used to call a husband."

"How do you know all of this?" I asked.

"I told you before, I just know. But I also know that my Isabella would never leave that _'tit ange _by choice," she said, gesturing in the sleeping Abigail's direction.

"No she wouldn't," I said, looking at Abigail for the first time since we'd been here. Lila began shuffling across the room, headed for the chest of drawers pushed up against the wall. She bent over, opening the bottom drawer, and pulled out something that was light pink. Closing the drawer, she turned around and shuffled towards me. She pressed what looked like a small pink blanket into my hands.

"Isabella's mother made it when Isabella was a child, and she used it for Abigail," she said. I opened my mouth to thank her, but she was already on her way to the door. She turned around and motioned for us to follow her. Emmett and I quickly complied and followed her down the hallway. She walked to the very end, and pointed to a string hanging from a door set into the ceiling.

"Open it please," she said to Emmett. He stepped around her and grabbed the string, pulling open the door, causing a ladder to unfold.

"The _salaud _put all of Isabella's things up here. That's what you're here for, no?" she said, and I just shook my head. How this old woman knew these things was beyond me. We followed her up the ladder into a vast attic. She moved over to a stack of boxes, all of which were drenched in Bella's scent.

"You, big one," she said, pointing to Emmett, "get this box for me." She was pointing to a small box that was buried under about ten others. I stood back as he easily shifted the boxes and extracted the one that she wanted. "Bring it here," she gestured towards herself.

After Emmett had set the box down next to her, she squatted down, flipped the top off the box and rummaged around for a few moments, before finally pulling out a very old jeweler box. Standing, Lila walked over to me and handed it to me. "Give her this please," she said.

"I will," I told her.

"And you tell her, that I know that she didn't leave Abigail. Tell her that I will do my best to keep her safe until it's time for Isabella to come and get her."

"I was curious about one thing," I said to her. She motioned with her hands to go on.

"What has he been telling people? You know about Bel- I mean Isabella."

She snorted in disgust, "That _salaud _has been telling people that my Isabella ran off with another man. That she ran out on him and _his_ _bebe_. But I told Abigail, I told her that her mother would never leave her."

"Thank you," I said, holding up the blanket and the jeweler box, "this will mean so much to her."

"I know, I know, now move out of my way. An old woman needs her sleep," she said, attempting to move me. I could hear Emmett snickering behind us as I let her go past, but instead of following her back down the ladder, I pulled it up, and we jumped through one of the attic windows.

As soon as my feet hit the ground, I took off for home. I needed to get back to Bella, I didn't like being away from her, no matter the reason. I felt the tension in my chest ease with each step I took, and let out an audible breath of relief when the house came into view.

Bounding up the front steps, I threw the front door open and only faintly registered the sound of Emmett coming in behind me, shutting the door. I flew up the stairs, pausing at the top to inhale deeply seeking out Bella's distinct scent. I followed it to Alice's bedroom. I raised my hand to knock, but before I could Alice called out, "Come in, Jasper." Of course, she would have seen me coming. I pushed the door open and found Bella, Alice, and Rosalie sitting on the bed in the center of the room. I could tell by the intense feelings that were floating in the air that they had been having a pretty serious conversation.

"I'm not interrupting anything am I?" I asked, hiding what was in my hands behind my back. They all shook there heads no, so I asked Bella, "Would you come with me? I have something to show you."

"Sure," she said, attempting to be nonchalant, but she was still feeling some of her earlier disappointment. I moved aside so she could walk ahead of me, and Rose gasped as I turned seeing what was in my hands. I followed her into my bedroom, and out to my balcony.

"Why do you come here so much?" I asked her.

She shrugged, moving to sit on one of the benches, "It's peaceful out here," she said, "now what did you want to show me?"

Without a word, I brought the blanket from behind my back and handed it to her. I could tell she recognized it instantly, she put out such a powerful burst of love, it was like nothing I'd ever felt before. She stood and grabbed it from my hands, clutching it to her chest, burying her face in the soft fabric. She dropped back down onto the bench, and I quickly sat beside her, placing my hand on her back.

I placed the jeweler box in her lap, and she pulled the blanket away from her face to look at it. Her eyes were glazed over with tears as she reached out with a shaky hand to pick it up. The box was made of golden teak wood with a swirling design carved into the top. She lifted the top and ran her fingers over the contents reverently. She was putting off so many good emotions that I couldn't help but think my mission was a success.

She looked up at me, "How? How did you do this?"

"Emmett and I went to your house," I said.

"But how did you know?"

"Your aunt caught us looking for your things," I said, then laughed, shaking my head, "That woman is something else."

"That she is," Bella said with a shaky laugh.

"Somehow she knew that you were with us. She said to tell you that she knew that you wouldn't leave Abigail, and that she would keep her safe until it was time for you to come and get her."

The next thing I knew Bella had her arms thrown around my neck, and was dry sobbing onto my shoulder. "_Merci, Merci, Merci_," she said over and over. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her to me, and muttered, "You're welcome."

She loosened her hold on me enough to lean back and look at me. I found myself getting lost in her eyes, the bright crimson shade not fazing me. She slowly began to rise up, but I stayed still not wanting to scare her. Slowly and shakily, she grazed my lips with hers, and I was frozen for a split second before coming to life. I tilted my head to the side and deepened the kiss, bringing one of my hands up to tangle in her long dark hair. She responded eagerly, tightening her arms around my neck, rising higher on her toes.

She pulled away after a few minutes, and her emotions changed from, lust and desire to guilt and self loathing. Her bottom lip began to tremble and she dropped her gaze, removing her arms from around me.

"Bella, don't-" but she didn't let me finish. Ripping herself from my embrace, she gathered the blanket and jeweler box in her arms, and ran from the room.

I stood on the balcony dumbfounded, staring after her, wondering what the hell just happened.

**Glossary of Cajun French:**

_tante: _aunt

_Pas du tout: _Not at all

_Non: _no

_pas de couillets: _roughly translated, man with no balls

_'tit ange_: little angel

_merci: _thank you


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

I cannot wait to go and see Abigail tonight. I still can't believe that Jasper came up with this wonderful idea. I was out on Jaspers balcony waiting until it was time to go. I loved it out here, everything was so peaceful, I could sit and watch the clouds go by, count the stars at night. I got up to 11,844,562 last night. I heard Jasper come into the bedroom, cross out onto the balcony, then come to lean against the railing next to me.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," I said, "Are you ready to go?"

He grimaced slightly, and I was immediately wary.

"What?" I asked.

"Um, Bella," he said, turning his face away from me, "we won't be able to go tonight."

"Why?" I asked, mentally cursing the weakness I could hear in my voice.

"I have something I have to take care of tonight," he said.

"Oh, okay," I said, disappointment coursing through me. Jasper still wasn't looking at me, so I got up and left the balcony, exiting the room, stepping out into the hall way. As soon as I pulled the door shut behind me, anger began to take over my emotions. I was angry at Jasper for not keeping his promises, and I was angry at myself for relying on those promises in the first place.

I leaned back against the door, resting my head on the smooth painted wood and closed my eyes trying to keep my emotions under control. It was in this position that Alice found me.

"Hey, Bella," she said brightly.

I offered a smile in return, but must not have been very convincing, because Alice took a hold of my hand tugging slightly.

"C'mon," she said, "let's go to my room."

I let her lead me away from Jasper's bedroom door, and down the long hallway to another door on the right. _How long was this hallway anyway? It seems like it goes on forever. _I thought to myself wryly. I followed Alice through the door and into what had to be her bedroom.

Everything was very light and airy, but had a touch of elegance and sophistication about it, just like the woman who lived in it. I looked towards the bed, draped in gold and white, and saw that Rosalie was already sitting there waiting on us.

"Hello, Bella," Rosalie said with a polite smile.

"Hello," I murmured.

Alice bounced up onto the bed, and patted the spot in the middle, asking me to join them. I climbed up with some hesitation, and awkwardly settled myself between them.

"Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?" Alice asked.

"Not really," I mumbled.

"Bella, I already know what's wrong, I just think that it would be good for you to talk about it," she said.

"How do you know?" I asked, completely confused.

"Oh, I guess nobody ever explained my gift did they?" When I shook my head no, she continued, "I can see the future, Bella. I see the different paths of peoples lives based on their decisions."

"So when Jasper decided..."

"Yep!" she interrupted.

"Oh," I said lamely.

"Bella," Rosalie began somewhat timidly, "Do you think it would it make you feel more comfortable if I told you about why I was changed? Maybe you would be more willing to talk about what happened. I know, from personal experience, that it's better to talk about these things. It's easier to come to terms with them."

Before I could answer, Alice cut in, "By the way, Jasper's 'other things to do tonight' have something to do with you, and will make you very happy. And no I won't tell you, I just thought that you would want to know."

I nodded, feeling a bit better, and turned back to Rosalie, "If you feel comfortable telling me, it might help, but I'm not making any promises," I said.

"That's okay Bella," Rosalie said, "My past isn't very easy for me to talk about either, but you're my sister, and if sharing mine will help you get past yours, it'll be worth it."

I reached out and grasped her long pale fingers tipped in red, and squeezed tightly. "Sister?"

She smiled softly and said, "Of course."

"Thank you," I whispered.

Rosalie took a deep steadying breath, and began, "I was born in 1915 to Harold and Lillian Hale in Rochester. Mine was a happy life, I had everything I could possibly want. Toys and dolls as a child, pretty dresses and jewelry when I was older. My parents loved me, but they were what you would call 'social climbers'. They weren't happy with their station in life, even though, at the time, during the Depression, we were very fortunate.

By the time I turned 18 I had been taught, trained, and sculpted into the perfect wife, I was just waiting for the right husband. Now don't get me wrong, I wanted more than anything to marry, have children…..." she trailed off, her eyes unfocused, envisioning the future that she had wanted, but lost.

I sat quietly and waited for her to continue, but judging from Alice's expression, she already knew what was coming. After a few moments, Rosalie shook herself lightly, coming back reality. Suddenly her breathtaking features twisted into a sardonic smile.

"I was visiting my fathers work when I first met Royce King. He was everything I had been waiting for, my fairytale groom. Rich, handsome, charming; he swept me off my feet. Roses were delivered daily, and I was soon in love. My parents were thrilled, this was their gateway to bigger and better things. I was so blinded by my feelings, and what I thought was love, that I couldn't see that everything wasn't as perfect as it seemed."

"It was little things at first. Royce would choose my clothing, but he said he just wanted to give me gifts, wanted me to have the best of everything. He chose my hairstyles, but of course he was just giving me advice from his mother, who of course was up on the latest fashions. It began to escalade. He was there every moment of every day, he needed to know where I was at all times, every second had to be accounted for. I was cut off from my friends, from everyone I cared about except for my parents and his."

"I finally admitted that something was wrong when I broached the subject of children with Royce, and he informed me that we wouldn't be having any. He had been visiting my home, like he did most days, and I told him about the children that I wanted with him, my hopes, my dreams for them. He let me pour my heart out, must have seen the hope in my eyes, before telling me that he didn't want children, never had, and never planned on having any. I didn't have much say in the matter he told me.

I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces with every word he spoke. I fled the house, and ran to my nearest friend, Vera. Or at least I had hoped that she was still my friend. Vera had married a carpenter, a man who was below her station, and had been shunned by society. I had continued visiting her, trying to retain our friendship but Royce had put a stop to that."

"Vera welcomed me into her home, and listened to me talk for hours. I told her about Royce's increasingly controlling behavior, and his latest edict. She talked me through it all, and by the time I left later that night, I was ready to go home and tell my parents that I was calling off the wedding. I could not marry a man like Royce. I just couldn't."

"Night had fallen while I was at Vera's, and I set off towards home at a quick walk. I was nearly half way there when I heard someone call my name. I looked toward the sound, and saw Royce and three of his friends walking down the street towards me, leaning on one another, stumbling the whole way."

Rosalie paused again, her hand now clutching mine in a death grip, staring off into the distance again, her face twisted into a grimace of pain.

"When they reached me, Royce immediately scooped me into his arms, breathing heavily into my face with whiskey tainted breath. He attempted to press his lips to mine for a kiss, but I pushed against him, telling him that he was drunk, and that I needed to get home. He pulled away from me roughly, holding me at arms length, shaking me slightly, his friends chuckling around us,

'You walked out on me Rosalie,' he had slurred, 'I didn't like that, not. at. all.' his shakes were becoming more wild and violent. 'And now you're going to make a fool out of me in front of my friends?' By this point my hat had fallen off, and my hair was coming loose from the pins. I was quickly becoming nauseous and light headed by his erratic jerking."

'C'mon, Rosalie, gimmie a little kiss,' he had said. I told him no again, attempting to wiggle out of his grasp. His features grew dark, a shadow passing over them, then his face twisted up into a sick sneer. He flung me by my arms into the group of his surrounding friends."

'Go a head, boys,' he shouted, 'she's all yours,'

"He stood back and watched, with a sickening fascination, as his friends took turns raping and beating me. He leaned over me as his friends were stumbling away laughing, long enough to rip the engagement ring off of my finger, before he followed behind them, his own deep laughter trailing after him."

"I was laying on the cold stone of the street waiting to die, when Carlisle found me. He brought me back to the house that he had been sharing with Esme and Edward, and bit me, changed me to save me, much like Jasper did to you," she paused, fixing her gaze on my face again, and gave a sarcastic little laugh. "You know, Carlisle had hoped that I would be Edward's mate." She shook her head, "Edward took one look at me and dismissed me as shallow, and not worth his time."

Anger and indignation rose within me, and I wanted to know just who Edward thought he was with his pompous behavior. Rosalie must have sensed my anger, she squeezed my hand giving a sweet smile, "I found Emmett a few years later. He had been attacked by a bear in the same woods that I had been hunting in. I took one look at his face and picked him up, carrying him back to Carlisle who saved him. I don't think that this life would be bearable if I didn't have him with me," she concluded.

Rosalie and Alice both turned expectant eyes on me. They wanted me to tell them about my past. Was I ready for this? Could I trust these two women who I just met? Then I remembered one word that Rosalie said. 'Sister'. Yes, I could defiantly trust and confide in my sisters. Just as I opened my mouth, Alice let out a tiny growl of frustration.

"We're going to have to finish this another day," she said petulantly, crossing her arms across her small chest. I was about to ask her why when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in, Jasper," Alice said in the same pouty tone.

Jasper. _Dieu_. With everything that Rosalie had told me, I forgot that I was mad at him. Now that he was back though, and pushing the bedroom door open, some of my anger and disappointment resurfaced again.

He stood just inside the doorway, looking around the room with a concerned expression on his face, his hands tucked behind his back.

"I'm not interrupting anything am I?" he asked.

We all lied and shook our heads no, when what I really wanted to do was respond with some smart aleck remark. Where did that urge come from? That wasn't like me. Jasper focused his gaze on me.

"Would you come with me?" he asked, "I have something to show you."

"Sure," I said, rising from the bed and preceding him out the door. I led us back to his balcony.

"Why do you come here so much?" I heard him ask from behind me.

I shrugged, sitting down on one of the stone benches, "It's peaceful out here," I answered truthfully. "Now what did you want to show me?" I asked. I was still upset with him for canceling earlier, even if Alice said that he was doing something for me.

He didn't utter a word, he just brought one of his arms around to his front, and clutched in his hand was something that was very familiar to me. How did he do this?

All thought rushed from my mind as I snatched the soft pink blanket from him and crushed it to my nose, breathing deeply the scent of Abigail that still clung to the fabric. I didn't register Jasper sitting next to me, until I felt something solid in my lap.

I brought the blanket away from my face to look to see what it was, and the sheen of tears blurring my vision doubled. It was _tantes _jewelry box. I had been fascinated with it as a child, always getting into trouble when she would catch me wrist deep in what I then thought had to be millions of dollars in riches. I lifted the lid off the box slowly, running my fingers across generations of pearls, broaches, pins, things that I knew she held dear.

I looked to Jasper, "How?" I asked, "How did you do this?" His answer blew me away.

"Emmett and I went to your house," he told me. They went through so much trouble. I suddenly felt very guilty for being so angry. Then another thought occurred to me.

"But, how did you know?" I asked.

A smile flashed across his face, "You aunt caught us looking for your things," he laughed, shaking his head in amusement, "That woman is something else," he said with a chuckle.

"That she is," I said with a shaky laugh, I was still so overwhelmed.

His next words filled me with so much love and hope that I thought I would burst.

"Somehow she knew that you were with us. She said to tell you that she knew that you wouldn't leave Abigail, and that she would keep her safe until it was time for you to come and get her."

I launched my self at Jasper, flinging my arms around his neck. He had done so much for me. He had given me hope, a piece of my past, and a piece of my Abigail. The love swelled within my chest, and I fully expected it to burst open any minute.

_"Merci, Merci, Merci,"_ I whispered into his sweet smelling neck. I felt his arms come up to wrap around my waist and he pressed his face into my hair, "Your welcome." The love that I felt flowing from him was deep enough for me to drown in. I loosened my grip from around his neck, and leaned back to meet his eyes.

Gazing into his now completely golden eyes, I wanted to nothing more in that moment than press my lips to his. Without a second thought, I gave into my instincts and began to lean up towards him. Brushing my lips tentatively against his, I waited for him to respond. I didn't take him long, he brought one hand up to tangle in my hair and deepened the kiss.

My eyes fluttered closed, but as soon as they did, images of my old life began to flash behind my eyelids. What the hell is the matter with me? How can I be doing this, be feeling these wonderful things? All of my lust and desire shattered, and guilt and self loathing came to the fore front of my mind.

How could I think about another man this way after what Robert had done to me? I knew that Jasper was in no way anything like Robert, but this is still wrong. I shouldn't be feeling these things, _Dieu, _maybe I am defective. Why would Jasper even want _me_ in that sense?

Leaning away from Jasper's wonderful embrace, I felt my bottom lip begin to tremble and my eyes glazed over with tears once more. I dropped my arms and wrenched myself away from this magnificent man, who was entirely too good for me.

"Bella, don't-" he began, but I gathered my things and quickly fled the room before he could finish. I fled back down the hall to Alice's bedroom, where she was already waiting with the door ajar and open arms.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Alice wrapped her tiny arms around me, shushing and rocking me like a baby as I shook with tearless sobs.

"It's okay, Bella," Alice whispered, "It will all be alright."

As her arms tightened around me, I felt an artificial calm drape over me, and I knew that Jasper was near by. Just the thought of him made me feel worse, but thanks to my manufactured emotions I remained calm.

"What happened?" Alice asked quietly after a few minutes.

"Don't you already know?" I asked in a shaky voice, still thick with the remnants of my tears.

"I know that you kissed Jasper, but I don't know why you ran from him," she said.

That's right, I never got the chance to tell her about Robert. I would have to now, it's the only way she would understand.

I pulled myself from her embrace, and walked across the room to sit on the bed, looking at my knees instead of her elfish face.

"Would you see if Rosalie would join us? Esme as well please," I asked Alice, figuring it would be easier to tell the story once instead of repeating it over and over. I could see Alice nod out of my peripheral vision, and she darted from the room. She returned only seconds later with Rosalie and Esme in tow. Everyone grouped around me on the bed, but I kept my eyes on my knees.

I wasn't worried about trying to keep myself calm, Jasper was still taking care of that from....somewhere.

They must have all been expecting what I was going to do, because none of them acted surprised when I began speaking.

"I met Robert when I was nineteen years old, at a place called Comeau's Landing. It was a real disreputable place, mostly frequented by poachers, smugglers, trappers, men with few morals, and women with even fewer morals. My closest friend, Annick, or Annie as I usually called her, had fallen in with this crowd, and I was worried about her. I had gone that night to try to talk her into coming home before she got hurt."

The memories were so vivid as I talked, I felt as if I were back there on that night, walking through the doors to Comeau's again.

_I do not want to be here at all._

_The crushed shell of the lot where the few who had automobiles could park crunched under my feet as I made my way to the screen door which led to a place I swore I would never enter. _

_The building faced the bayou, fifty feet back from the levee, set up on stilts to protect it from flooding. Whole sections of the buildings aluminum siding were hung on hinges, and propped open with long poles, creating a gallery of sorts. You could see the smoke billowing out of the screens, and I could only imagine what it would be like inside the place._

_Well, I was about to find out, I suppose._

_I had paused in front of the screen door, feeling a ridiculous amount of nerves over just the thought of entering. My feet were braced apart, the soft fabric of my skirt twisting around my legs from the small gusts of wind that kept whipping through the open area of the lot._

_There was a commotion behind me, and I looked over my shoulder to find a man with a woman draped on each arm sauntering towards me. The man was rotund, his large belly hanging over the waist of soiled brown pants, an off white button up shirt stretched over his middle. Greasy, thinning hair was combed over a sweaty shiny head, and his beady brown eyes shifted over the lot constantly. The women were dressed gaudily, bright colored, low cut, short skirted dresses clung to their buxom bodies. The one clinging to the mans left side had hair a garish shade of red, the woman on the right a brassy blonde, both done in up do's I'm sure they thought were stylish. My body tensed as they neared, but I relaxed as they wound around me, continuing to the entrance._

_Wait, maybe I wouldn't have to go in after all. I could ask them to see if Annie was in there, and then maybe send her out. Yes! That just might work._

_"Excuse me!" I hollered out, causing the group of three to stop and turn around._

_The man looked me up and down like I was dinner, the two women glared at me with hateful eyes. I shuffled towards them a few steps and looked down at my feet._

_"Excuse me," I said again, "but I was wondering if one of you would check to see if my friend Annie, I mean Annick, is inside, and maybe send her out please?"_

_The woman on the left_ _threw her head back, letting out a loud cackle of laughter, "Whasa matter, honey?" she slurred, "Are you afraid to go inside?" _

_The man unwound his arm from the blondes waist and brought his fingers up to trace across my cheek. "I could help you out cher, I would do anything you wanted me to do, if you were willing to offer me something yourself," he crooned, running his greasy fingers down the side of my neck._

_I sucked in a breath, stumbling back a step as the group swung around and continued through the doors, loud raucous laughter trailing behind them._

_What am I getting myself into? I can't do this, come to a place like this and contend with these people._

_I heard a loud peal of laughter come from inside that could only belong to one person, Annie. I could do this, I could be strong for her. I had to help her before something bad happened to her. _

_So I squared my shoulders, took a deep steadying breath, and marched the last few feet to the entrance of Comeau's. I pulled the screen door open, taking a step inside, but the stench of smoke, sweat, and booze almost sent me reeling out again. My eyes watered as I continued inside, franticly searching for my friend so I could leave as soon as possible._

_Loud, live music was being played by a group of three on a slightly raised platform that served as a stage, and dancers where whirling around the floor in time to the music. Waitresses weaved around, trays holding drinks balanced on nimble arms above their heads. People were bumping into me from all directions, nearly knocking me to the floor. My attention turned to the bar, and I let out a whimper of relief, shortly followed by a wave of dread._

_There she was, sitting on a tall stool in front of the bar, a dirty, drunk looking man whispering into her ear. She was dressed like the two women I had seen on the way into the bar, in a tight red dress with her light brown curls lying loose around her face. I watched in a sort of horrified fascination as she turned more towards the man, spreading her legs slightly and he slid one hand between them, underneath her skirt. Her head fell drunkenly back and she moaned through parted lips._

_Deciding that this had already gone far enough, I wound my way through the patrons to where she was sitting._

_"Annie," I said when I reached her._

_She didn't respond, her eyes were still closed, lips parted with small pants of desire escaping._

_"Annie," I said again a bit louder, still no response._

_"Annick!" I screeched causing several people next to us look around in curiosity, and Annie's eyes to finally open._

_Her head lifted slightly, and she whispered, "Isabella? What are you doing here?"_

_"I'm here to take you home," I told her firmly._

_"Home? I don't want to go home, I'm staying here with...." she trailed off, turning an eye to the man who still had his hand up her skirt, "with my friend."_

_Her friend? "Annie, do you even know his name?" I asked._

_Annie's head came up the rest of the way, and her large brown eyes narrowed to slits._

_"I don't see how that's any of your business, Isabella," she sneered, taking me completely by surprise, Annie had never spoken to me that way before. "Why don't you just get out of here and let me have my fun, or better yet, stick around and have some of your own." With that she turned her attention back to her temporary beau, dismissing me completely._

_I stood there for a few minutes, completely dumbfounded, before I shook myself and backed away slowly. I turned around, not wanting to look at her anymore, the girl who used to be my best friend, but now, even I couldn't recognize the person she had become. I remembered times when she was so carefree and innocent, seeming with out a trouble in the world._

_A lump rose in my throat, and I put a hand over my mouth to stifle my sobs. I stood in the middle of the crowd, swaying unwillingly back and forth, being rocked by the waves of people. I began pushing my way forward, looking for anything solid to anchor myself to._

_I reached the stage, and turned to lean my back against it. The music washed over me, some old Cajun song, lamenting over a love lost. The song swelled, the singer belting out the last note with gusto before drifting to a close._

_"Okay, folks, we're gonna take a break, get ourselves a beer," a voice said, silky and rough at the same time._

_A man jumped from the stage, landing next to me causing my heart to leap into my throat. I gasped, my hand flying to my chest, trying to settle the pounding. _

_"I'm sorry, cher," the man said dismissively, already walking away, casting me a brief look from the corner of his eye._

_He stopped abruptly, wheeling around to face me, his face breaking out into a breathtaking smile. White flashed against bronze tanned skin, and I fought the urge to draw back, away from the intensity of it. Dark eyes raked up and down my body, clad in a simple blue dress._

_"Well, hello there, jolie fille," he murmured, taking a step towards where I was still leaning against the stage. He tipped his head down towards me, causing silky black hair to tumble into his face. Intense brown eyes, stared into mine, and he took another step closer._

_My breath was caught in my throat, and it was like I was under a spell, unable to look away from him. No man had ever been this close to me, and my heart was fluttering in my chest, a mixture of nervousness and something else I had never felt before._

_He was close enough now to lean forward and rest his hands on the rough wood of the stage on either side of me._

_"Aren'tcha gonna say anything 'tite chatte?" he asked when I still hadn't returned his greeting, "Surely there's a name to go with such an angelic face."_

_It took me a few minutes to quell the flutter of nerves that rose with the complement, "Isabella," I whispered._

_"Isabella," he repeated, "beautiful name, beautiful woman."_

_I felt the blush rise in my cheeks, and thoughts of my troubled friend and the reason I came here flew from my mind as I ducked my head to the side._

_I could feel him leaning closer, turning his face towards mine, whiskey tainted breath brushing across my face._

_"I'm Robert," he whispered into my ear._

I blinked quickly a couple of times, coming out the past into the present. I looked around at Rosalie, Alice and Esme who were still grouped around me on the bed.

"We had a whirlwind romance, he swept me off my feet. We were married six months after that, Robert just couldn't wait," I said.

"He hit me for the first time on our honeymoon."

I could hear the almost audible pop of the romantic bubble that had surrounded us at my words.

"We had gone to a little resort for a week, and were having dinner in a small restaurant that was located right in the place. I hadn't realized that anything was wrong until we got back up to our room. Robert exploded as soon as the door shut behind us, calming that I had been flirting with the waiter. I had to stay inside for the rest of the trip my face was bruised so badly," I whispered.

"We returned home from the trip early, and tentatively settled into our married life."

"Things weren't always bad, Robert would have good days, and he would have bad days. On his good days we would spend our time laughing and loving, like we did in the beginning of our relationship . On the bad days though, the tiniest thing would set him off. I was always walking on eggshells, just waiting for him to decide that I had done something wrong and that I needed to be punished."

"He got a little better when I found out that I was pregnant with Abigail, he didn't hit me and was more pleasant, but after she was born he went right back to the way he was."

When I didn't speak again for a few minutes Rosalie asked in a quiet voice, "What happened the night, well, the night he killed you?"

A barrage of emotions threatened to overwhelm me with her question, but they couldn't break through the bubble of calm that still surrounded me, and I briefly wondered where Jasper was.

When I answered her, my words came out in short and clipped, "That night Robert came home late, drunk and angry. I had been on edge all afternoon, over an incident at the grocery store." Esme gasped in horror as she began to put the pieces together.

"You see, the lovely people of our small town had been gossiping about a strange man kissing on me in front of the butcher-"

I was cut off by a loud _CRASH_ coming from down the hallway. We all rushed to the door, peeking around the frame in time to see Jasper fly down the stairs and then heard the unmistakable sound of the door smacking into the wall as it was flung open.

Edward ambled up to us from the other end of the hallway.

"Where's Jasper going, and what does he think is his fault?" He asked.

_Oh no._

_Glossary of Cajun French_

_Cher: _term of endearment

'_Tite chatte: _little cat

_Jolie fille: _pretty lady


	12. Chapter 12

_Bella's POV_

_My gaze flitted from Rose to Alice then to Esme, hopping that one of them would give me some sort of explanation as to what was going on. None of them volunteered. I huffed and started to walk out of the door._

"_Bella!" Rose's voice stopped me. I turned around to face her. "Where are you going?" Emmett and Carlisle appeared in the doorway, efficiently blocking my way. All of them had the same look of worry on their faces._

"_I'm going to find Jasper." I stated; my back was facing Carlisle and Emmett, but I could still see them stiffen out of the corner of my eyes. What was going on? Weren't they worried about Jasper? Why weren't they rushing out of the house to try to find and bring him home._

"_Why don't you stay with us Bella. Jasper will be back soon. He's probably just going for a hunt," Esme suggested in her motherly voice. _

"_I need to find Jasper though. I won't be gone long." Esme looked frightened, I was about to question her about it when I felt big arms wrap around my waist unforgivably tight. My first instinct was to freeze and become submissive Bella. I forced myself to struggle, I wouldn't be submissive anymore. I was away from Robert and there was no reason for me to be weak anymore. I was a free woman now, no one could control me. As I kept struggling, my new Vampire instincts shined through and it protested vehemently to being held in this manner. I thrashed around in my captive's arms with strength that I didn't know I had in me. Each time I struggled my captor's arms were forced to loosen from around me. _

_When I was free I looked around wildly, breathing heavily and daring anyone else in the room to challenge me. Emmett was moving towards Rose who grabbed him into her arms in a tight hug. All of the Cullens except for Carlisle were backing away from me; Carlisle came towards me, his arms in the air showing me he meant no harm._

"_Bella. . ." Carlisle cautioned after he saw me looking longingly at the window. Not listening to him I ran to the window and jumped out. I landed on my feet and took a moment to find Jasper's most recent scent trail with my newly heightened nose and I followed the trail. It took me ten minutes until the trail came to an end. It was supposed to be a pretty clearing with wildflowers everywhere; instead huge branches covered the ground smashing the flowers, the carcasses of squirrels and other small animals littered the ground, some shreds of what had been Jasper's clothes scattered periodically on the floor. Had Jasper done all of this? My question was answered when I saw Jasper working on knocking down another tree._

_My unnecessary breathing became labored. Instead of Jasper I saw Robert. He was furious and if I got in the way he would hurt me. Jasper snapped around and looked at me, his eyes pitch black. I whimpered and dropped onto the ground moving into the fetal position. I heard the crunching of branches and Jasper walked over to me._

"_Bella?" Jasper whispered. He lightly touched my shoulder and I flinched._

"_Please. I'll be good, just don't hurt me. I'll be quiet. I promise." I breathed out._

"_Oh no. What have I done?" Jasper asked himself. Jasper crouched down beside me. "Bella it's me, Jasper. I won't hurt you. I'm done now," when I didn't answer him he sighed. "Bella, I'm going to go and sit over by this tree." He wasn't trying to but quiet, but obnoxiously loud so that I would always know where he was, my eyes were closed and I wasn't ready to move from my haven yet. When Jasper was true to his work that he wasn't going to hurt me, my breathing settled. He won't hurt you Bella. He's not Robert. You can trust him Bella. Nothing will happen. _Slowly I lifted my head up and looked at Jasper. He was staring at me, his eyes no longer black, but now a light topaz color. A small smile graced his lips, but it was a sad smile full of regret. Slowly I sat up and hugged my knees to my chest.

"Are you okay?" Jasper questioned me.

"I don't know." How else could I answer? We were quiet for a minute. There were no sounds of woodland creatures, Jasper scared them off when he was off on his rampage. To break the silence I asked a question that had been haunting me since Jasper ran off. "Why did you run off?" Jasper looked up at me surprised at first, then his face had a look of guilt on his face.

"Bella its my fault that that piece of shit hurt you. If I didn't kiss you in the store you would still be alive and with your daughter. Now your condemned to live forever." I looked up at Jasper who had his hands covering his eyes. Realization overtook me.

"You heard my story," Jasper nodded and looked up at me.

"I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, honest. But it's hard to have any secrets in a house full of vampires that have super hearing." I felt the corners of my mouth rise up in a small mouth, I should've thought about that.

"If you heard my story Jasper then you should have realized that Robert had been hitting me long before you came. It isn't your fault. If anything you saved me." That was the wrong thing to say. Jasper stood up quickly and his eyes went black again.

"I saved you?!" He asked incredulously, a look of bewilderment on his face. "Bella I condemned you for eternity! You can't see your family anymore! Your Aunt, yeah you can't see her until you get your blood lust controlled. You have to live off of animals' blood! And your daughter. I took you from your daughter! How many years of her life are you going to miss because you can't control yourself? And even when you get control she won't ever be safe around you again! Humans are killed if they know about our race!" Oh. . .

"Jasper that's not true. I still can see my Abigail. I see her every night, with you right beside me. I will get better with my control. Already I've been getting better. You said yourself that my Aunt knows that I'm okay. I don't even know where my family is! For all I know they could be dead. I haven't talked to them in ages. And I'd rather live off of animals' blood than humans'. And Abigail will be protected by me, she won't be killed. I'll make sure of that." I said determined. Jasper shook his head and focused on the ground. Slowly and quietly I stood up and walked over to Jasper. I covered his shoulder with my hand, his muscles were tense under my petite fingers. Moving to stand beside him I worked his muscles loose with my fingers.

"I'm sorry Bella. I should have never kissed you in that grocery store. You would be able to live a long happy life then."

"Jasper, when will you learn that I would never be happy with Robert. I'm happy now," I insisted. He looked up at me with trouble golden eyes.

"Do you mean it Bella? Are you truly happy here?"

"Yes Jasper. I am happy living with your family. I only wish Abigail was here with me."

"Bella I do everything in my power to help you get Abigail back. We can go tonight, if you want. To see your daughter." My face brightened up.

"Thank you Jasper!" I leaned down and wrapped my arms around Jasper's neck, my chest was pressed against Jasper's back. Our position was the most comfortable in the world so Jasper stood up and turned to look at me. Again I wrapped my arms around his neck. After Jasper got used to it he gave me a hug back. When we separated Jasper and I just looked at each other.

I bit my bottom lip and stepped on my tip toes, I hesitated and almost stood flat on my feet again. What stopped me was that Jasper was leaning towards me too. Courage flooded through me and I closed the space that separated me from Jasper. Emotions flooded through me; mainly love and adoration. Was that me feeling these emotions? Or was Jasper emitting them? And if it was him who was sending out these feelings did that mean that he loved me? If he did love me, or have any attraction what-so-ever, then why wasn't he kissing me back? Jasper broke the innocent kiss.

"I ah. . .Well. . .We should probably head back to the house. Then we can get changed and then get ready to go see Abigail." I nodded my head and took Jasper's hand in mine to head back to the house. This time we walked instead of ran back to the house, we had no reason to rush. There was no conversation between us as we went on our way. I was comfortable and I felt content walking through the woods with Jasper by my side.

When we came upon the house I could hear all of the family in the living room. After entering the house Esme rushed over to us to give us a both a hug. Edward looked up when we came in.

"Did you go kill another human Jasper. Loose your control again?" Edward taunted. Jasper stiffened next to me and everyone in the room stilled.

"Edward that was not called for." Carlisle reprimanded his son. Edward snorted and left the room to disappear upstairs. Ignoring Edward I looked around and saw Emmett and Rose sitting on a loveseat together and immediately blushed from embarrassment.

"I'm sorry Emmett. I didn't mean to hurt you. I don't know what came over me." I tried to explain what had happened to Emmett and myself at the same time. I truly didn't know what had overcome me.

"No hard feelings Bella. We all get protective over our mates," he told me in his deep voice. My eyes widened. That was why I felt those feelings in the woods. I couldn't take this right now. Not now. I yanked my hand out of Jasper's and ran from the room. I heard someone growl and another person get smacked; Rose must have hit Emmett.

"Bella!" I heard Jasper call out, I could smell him coming up to the stairs. My brain wasn't working, I couldn't see where I was going. Trying to get away from Jasper I yanked open the closest door to me and slammed it once I was safe within it's confines. My nose crinkled up when I smelled someone else in the room.

"Can I help you?" A voice snarled from behind me. I spun around quickly and was face to face with Edward.

"I-I-I'm sorry. I'll go. I d-didn't mean to barge in like that. It was very rude of me and I apologize. I'll ,uh, j-just be going now," I stuttered and turned back around to head out of the door when a hand grabbed my arm. Just like what happened with Emmett, something took me over and I found a new strength. I grabbed the arm that was on me and swung him away from me. As I was flipping Edward over Jasper came running into the room.

"What happened? Bella are you okay?" He asked at the site of Edward laying flat on his back and a tremendous hole in the middle of the floor. I ignored him and left the room. Alice was waiting for me in the hall with a change of clothes for me. I thanked her quietly, then hurried to find the nearest bathroom.

While I changed into the new clothes (a pair of pants and shirt) I could hear and smell Jasper outside of the door, waiting for me. I held the tattered clothes in one hand and opened the door with my other.

"Bella, are you ready to go see Abigail?" Holding out his hands to take the clothes from me.

"You knew?" I received no answer, but that was answer enough. I threw the clothes into his face and stormed out. I ran to my old home, needing to see my _bebe _again. Climbing up the tree I sat in the tree just outside of Abigail's room. She was already in her bed, her breathing even and steady. The window was slightly open, to let air defeat the humid summer night. A gust of wind came and Abigail's scent wafted over to me. My nostrils flared and I knew that my eyes changed to a darker shade of red. Arms wrapped around my waist to keep me for doing something that I would regret.

"No, Isabella you mustn't. This is your daughter. Abigail." Jasper's voice washed over me as well as waves of calm. I kept inhaling her scent, trying to get used to it. Once Jasper was satisfied that I wouldn't attempt anything he loosened his grip.

"I didn't know when we first met, but I had a feeling. I realized only today that it was for sure. I didn't know how you would react, you just got out of a relationship and we only just met. I'm not going to push you."

"Oh…" We were quiet again, watching my daughter sleep peacefully. "Jasper, once I get better control do you think that I could talk to Abigail? Face to face?" I hoped so. I needed to make sure that Abigail knew that I didn't leave her.

"I see no problem with it. We just need to make sure you're ready. No pushing anything. You'll have to be patient."

"Thank you." I knew that Jasper wouldn't bring up us being mates again and I didn't feel like talking about it right now. All of me was devoted to Abigail. That's how it would be for a while. I would work on my control endlessly until I would be able to have my daughter back in my arms, where she belongs.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Jasper's POV

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

I can't believe that I lied to her. My mate. I lied to my mate. Should I have told her the truth about when I fell in love with her? No, that would have scared her even more…right? I mean, how do you tell a woman that you have loved her from the first moment that you met her. When she is so scared and worried and not wanting to be in another relationship at the present time. How could I tell her that I lied without her hating me? Should I tell her? Why is 'living' so confusing and hard?

Pushing the thoughts from my head I focused on the task at hand; helping Esme repair the floor in Eddie's room. We had been at it for almost two hours now, and the task was almost completed. When it was done I would be able to find Bella and we could talk…hopefully.

"Jasper. Jasper!" I broke out of my reverie at the sound of Esme's urgent voice.

"Yeah Mom?" I responded, trying to act casual. Did she realize that I wasn't listening to a word that she just said?

"You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?" Shamefully I shook my head. Did she have to be so perceptive? I heard her sigh and then utter a soft laugh. "Go." My brow furrowed. Didn't she want help? "Your thoughts are preoccupied with Bella. You're just slowing the process down. Go. Go have fun." Esme insisted.

"Are you sure? I could still stay and help." My heart internally yelled at me; it wanted to be near Bella, not fixing a floor.

"Jasper Whitlock, if you don't go to Bella I will kick you out of this room. Now go!" Mom persisted, shooing me out of the room. Obliging, I left, but before I went to find Bella I turned around to look at Esme.

"Love you Mom." She looked like she wanted to cry, and I imagine that if she could, she would. Her hands were pressed against her chest, right above her heart.

"And I love you Jasper…" Was the response before Esme started working again. Smiling brightly I used my nose to find Bella's whereabouts. Picking her freshest scent from all the others in the house I followed it; not paying attention to where I was going, only knowing that it would lead me to my love. I stopped outside of Alice's room. Before I could even knock, Alice's voice rang out.

"No Jasper. You can't see Bella. I'm taking measurements for clothes for her. Bella will be done in time for you two to go see Abigail." I wasn't taking it. I wanted Bella's word that she was alright with being in there alone with Alice who was currently in one of her fashion craves.

"Bella?" I questioned, my voice full of anxiety. Even just hearing her voice would settle my emotions.

"I'm fine Jasper. Alice is just holding me hostage until she has some clothes made for me." When Bella spoke the work 'hostage' it made me crazy even though I knew it wasn't a bad situation.

"Are you sure?" I questioned. Hoping deep down that she would say she wanted to run off with me, maybe go hunting. Just something that we could do by ourselves.

"No, but Alice is a force to be reckoned with. I'll see you later." I couldn't argue with that; when Alice has her mind made up, especially when it came to fashion, it was best to just give her what she wanted. Sighing, I walked to my room and searched for a book that would hopefully keep me occupied. Finding one about the Civil War that was supposed to be very accurate (I like to be the judge of that) I sat on my couch and started to read. I read most of the day and by the time it was dusk I was finished with the book…it was very accurate.

Standing up, I made my way to my bookcase to replace the book in its proper place and searched for another. No telling how long Alice would take. I was so immersed in finding another book that I didn't smell or hear someone enter my room. Finding a book that promised to be interesting, another on the Civil War, I made my way back to the couch, prepared to sit and read for a couple more hours.

What I wasn't expecting was for Bella to be sitting on my couch, her eyes following my every movement. When she saw that I saw that she was there she stood and smoothed the wrinkles from her newly made blouse. I attempted to keep my reaction in check, but it took much of my effort. Bella looked; well there wasn't a word to describe her. Long dark tussles were tied back in a low ponytail, her blouse was a light purple color that fit her figure perfectly, and slacks, that were also custom made, moved with her every movement.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted you. I just thought…" she trailed off when she noticed that I was smiling.

"Bella, you are welcome to come in here anytime you like. And please feel free to read any of my books. Most of them are about wars; some are just opinions, but most are factual." A stunned look appeared on her face.

"How do you know if they are fact or opinion?" Curiosity filled the room. I knew that I would have to tell her of my past sooner or later, I had just hoped that it would be later.

"I lived through the Civil War… Bella, my past is not a pretty thing. You already know that I fed off of humans for a time, before I came to live with the Cullens. Do you wish to know why?" Bella nodded her head confidently and strode towards me. Backing away, I replaced the second book on the shelf then guided her to the couch.

"I was a Commander for the Confederacy during the Civil War. I was 17, but to get into the military you had to be older so I lied and said that I was 20. I got promoted quickly. My job was to evacuate the women and children to Huston, Texas. There we got into some trouble. A woman, later I found out that her name was Maria, accompanied by two other, younger women came across us. The newcomers killed the women and children that I was escorting, but for some reason Maria liked me. Maria and her friends were vampires and that's how I was changed.

"Maria thought that vampires should rule the humans. After all we are the superior race, but we hide in fear from the measly humans. She would change humans who she thought would have promise to be good vampires. Maria created an army of Newborn vampires. As you have experienced, Newborn vampires are stronger than older ones. So once the Newborns would start to lose their strength Maria wanted them finished off. That was my job, as well as training the Newborns to fight. That's why I have all of the scars. Under normal circumstances a Newborn can be peaceful, but Maria purposefully made them wily, put them in bad conditions to make them crazier.

"There were two Newborns that I was friends with, their names were Peter and Charlotte. Peter was my second in command. One day Maria asked us to kill a group of 'worthless' newborns. In the group was a woman named Charlotte. Peter wouldn't kill her because she was his mate. Peter wanted to run away with Charlotte, and he begged me to let them go. They asked me is I wanted to go with them, but I declined. A year and a half later they came back for me. By this time I realized that what Maria was doing, was wrong. So I went with them. We took separate ways later, they still feed off of humans, but they choose their prey carefully. I met Alice in a diner and she told me of a clan of vampires that fed off of animals. We traveled together and came to live with Carlisle…" I looked up at Bella, for as I was talking I stared at my hands; too ashamed of my past to look her in the eye. She showed no hint of disgust in her features. "Bella, there's one more thing…" she placed her hand on my knee. "Maria and I were lovers for the time that I was with her." I grimaced, waiting to feel Bella's resentment at being with a man who spent time with a woman who was insane. Instead, she smiled slightly.

"I thought so." My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You said the Maria liked you, I had a feeling that it wasn't your personality. As Abigail said, you are a '_Une Belle Femme_'." Was the explanation that Bella provided me with. I chuckled and so did Bella.

"You're not ashamed of me?" I questioned soberly, the tone of our conversation taking yet another turn.

"No, everyone makes mistakes Jasper. All the events that you have been through have changed you to be the man that you are now. You shouldn't be ashamed of your past."

"Thank you Bella. Let's go see Abigail." I stood and offered my hand to Bella who took it appreciatively. Instead of jumping out of a window, tonight we descended multiple flights of stairs to get to the ground floor and walked out the front door.

Once the cool night air hit us we dropped hands and took up a slow run, following the path that we normally took. As we approached the house an excessive amount of fear and terror overwhelmed me. My gaze went immediately to Bella, I thought something was frightening her. But no, Bella wasn't afraid. My eyes widened in realization at the same time that Bella's did. Something was scaring Abigail… we ran toward the house, running as fast as we could to get to Abigail and what was frightening her.

Bella ran up the cypress tree and peered in at her daughter; I was on her tail. When we looked in the window Abigail was squirming on her bed, crying out. No one else was in the room.

"She's having a nightmare Jasper. I have to go to her. Please. Let me help her." She was begging and I was about to break, but I knew that something bad could happen if Bella went in there.

"Bella your Aunt is there and will take care of her. We can't risk it. Something could happen." I tried pleading with her.

"Jasper, use your nose. My Aunt isn't in there. She's out and Robert might be drunk. Please, you have to let me help her. You can feel her pain. You can't tell me that you'll let my _bebe_ suffer that kind of pain." I broke. I couldn't help it, she was right. If Robert was drunk, who knew what he would do; and the Aunt wasn't there. And the pain was bad. Abigail was having a horrendous nightmare about something.

"Okay. But I am to be by your side at all times. And if I say it's time to leave you, can't argue with me. Do you understand?" She stiffly nodded her head and then was off, trying to find the nearest open window. I followed her, making sure she never left my sight. The nearest open window was in the Master Bedroom, where Robert was laying on the bed with bottles of beer surrounding him. To Bella's credit, she didn't wince once, just walked right past him and toward her daughter. I didn't have as much control. I wanted to rip his throat out, but Bella kept me going.

When we arrived in Abigail's room Bella went straight to her daughter's side, gently touching her forehead and brushing away the sweaty strands of hair.

"Shush _bebe_. Mommy's here. Wake up _'tit ange. _You are fine. Open your eyes." Right when Bella said that Abigail's eyes flashed open frightfully. Tears started descending her small eyes automatically. Bella wrapped her arms around her daughter and I laid my hand on her shoulder, ready to take Bella from the room. There was no reaction in emotion when Bella cooed to her daughter, just worry.

"Momma?" Abigail whispered. "I thought you left. _Tante _said that you didn't, but you didn't come for me."

"_Non._ I could never leave you. I'll come and get you as soon as I can." I could hear Bella's voice waver, and I knew that if she would cry she could.

"Why can't you take me now?" Abigail had stopped crying, but her voice cracked and she wiped her nose on the sleeve of her nightgown.

"Not now _bebe._ Soon though, I promise. As soon as I can I will come and get you." Truth was apparent in Bella's voice. Once she had her blood lust under control nothing would stop her from coming to get Abigail.

"Okay Mommy. I missed you." Bella moved out of my grasp and I was about to protest when she climbed onto the little bed and set her daughter on her lap. Abigail finally noticed me and she smiled.

"Momma! It's the man from the butcher shop. The pretty man." Bella nodded and glanced at me.

"You remember Jasper?" Abigail nodded, her happy demeanor back and all traces of her nightmare gone now that she was in her mother's arms. "Mommy has been staying with Jasper." Abigail stared at me with big brown eyes curiously. Finally she moved off of her mother's lap and scurried over to me. Standing at my feet with her arms toward the sky she looked expectant. I glanced at Bella confused, she whispered too soft for a human to hear 'She wants you to pick her up'. Realizing what was asked of me I put my hands around her waist and hoisted her up, on instinct she wrapped her legs around my torso. This child had no fear of me what-so-ever, she willingly came to me. I had never been this close to a human child before. The trust that she was emitting amazed me. Abigail leaned in closer to me and whispered in my ear, her warm breath tickled my cold skin.

"Thank you for taking care of my Mommy." After, she started squirming again I realized that she must want to get down. Abigail ran back to her bed and climbed into her bed again. Bella combed her fingers through her daughter's dark hair. Eventually Abigail fell asleep in her mother's arms.

"Bella, we need to leave. The sun is almost up." I whispered. Bella looked up at me and then back at Abigail. Her eyes pleading with me to stay just a moment longer. "Bella we can't. We'll come again tonight, though." Standing up Bella covered Abigail with her sheet and gave her a gentle kiss on her cheek. I opened the window, and waited for Bella by it. Wistfully, she looked at her daughter before coming over by me and jumping out of the window. Making sure the window was closed, I jumped out after Bella.

We walked through the woods, making sure to stay out of sight of any wandering humans.

"Can I hold her tonight?" Bella questioned out of the blue, breaking the silence. I wanted to let her, I could see how much Abigail meant to Bella; but if anything were to happen to that little girl I wouldn't forgive myself.

"I'm sorry Bella. But no. Last night you were concerned about her safety that all you thought about. If it wasn't I don't know what could have happened. I don't want to risk anything." I knew how much I was hurting her; I didn't want to, but for now this was necessary. Silently, Bella nodded her head, she was about to take off when I grabbed her forearm. "Bella, don't do this to me. I'm trying to keep your daughter safe. Don't hate me for protecting your daughter. That's what you want, for your daughter to be safe." Venom tears that could never spill filled my love's eyes.

"I know Jasper. I just need some time to myself." My heart broke, she was pushing me away. But this is what she needs. I have to give her this.

So I watched the love of my life run away from me…and I did nothing to stop her.

Translations:

_tante: _aunt

_Non: _no

_'tit ange_: little angel

_bebe_: baby

AN: This chapter was already up, but there were errors in it, so I deleted the old chapter and fixed up some things and this is the result, hope you find everything to your satisfaction. Sorry about the dates mix-up! Please review!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Bella's POV

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

My Abigail was the only thing that mattered to me. Nothing was more important than her welfare. Getting used to the fact that I was a threat to her was troublesome for me. I was always the one protecting her, and now she needed someone to protect her from me. How was I supposed to deal that?

I didn't know where I was going, but the need to run was overwhelming. I would stop soon, when the time was right. Mainly, I stayed in the forest, but sometimes I would dart into a clearing where the morning sun could warm my face. Every once in a while, I would catch a fleeting glance of some small prey, but the urge to hunt wasn't in me.

I stopped by a creek and watched as the sun danced off the water and created dozens of sparkles. The crack of a branch alerted me to the fact that I wasn't alone. Automatically, my body went into defensive mode, crouching low to the ground, my head swiveling around to see where the danger would come from. I sniffed the air; the intruding scent was one that I had smelled before, but I couldn't place. The thing came closer, and I let out a warning growl.

A man emerged from the tress with his hands up in surrender. When the man stepped into the sunlight, I realized that it was a sparkling Carlisle.

"My apologies, Bella. My intention was not to frighten you. I can assure you that I mean no harm." Seeing that the threat was gone, I straitened up again.

"Carlisle, I'm sorry. I-I didn't know it was you." If I were still human, I knew that would have a blush to go with my stutter.

"No, Bella. I am the one at fault. Sneaking up on a newborn is never recommended. Even one as advanced as you." Carlisle walked closer and clasped his hands behind his back. My brow furrowed, what did he mean 'advanced'?

And by that, I mean that already you have excellent blood lust control. In all of my lifetime I have never seen a newborn vampire with as much control as you have, Bella. It is truly remarkable that you were able to be so near Abigail last night." My brow furrowed once more, how did Carlisle know about what happened last night? Maybe Jasper told him...

"News travels fast in this family. Jasper didn't tell me, but because of Edward's mind reading and Alice being psychic, the rest of the family found out. I think you'll find that it's very hard to keep secrets in this family. I hope you are okay with that. Sometimes it proves to be quite the inconvenience, but we manage." I nodded, taking in the information.

"Is Jasper okay?" Now, it was Carlisle's turn to look puzzled.

"No, but I feel the need to ask if there is cause for worry." Paternal concern could be seen all over Carlisle, in his eyes, voice tone, body language, and word usage.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with Jasper. I think we got in a fight though." Carlisle visibly relaxed when he realized that Jasper wasn't in harms way, and he motioned for me to follow him.

"You think?" Carlisle's voice portrayed that he was confused, struggling to put the information that I was giving him together. We were walking at a moderated pace, faster than a human, but not nearly as fast as our potential let us.

"When we were walking back from seeing Abigail, I asked Jasper if I could hold my _bebe_ again tonight and he replied 'No'. I was disappointed. Abigail is my everything. I just want what's best for her. I think that Jasper thinks that I'm mad at him. I'm not though..." I took a deep breath and started talking again. "You have to understand that for all of Abigail's life, I've been her only caretaker. It's hard for me to not hold her every night before I put her to bed. I just need some time to get used to the fact." Carlisle listened intently to my explanation. I recognized the path that we were taking as one that led back to the house.

"I understand perfectly Bella. You needn't worry about you daughter for much longer though. As I said, you have an incredible amount of control. You will have you daughter back in your arms very soon." Carlisle's words set my mind at ease. We were silent for a few paces, and then Carlisle spoke up once more.

"Bella, I would like to apologize for Edward's behavior. He is having a hard time at the moment. Of all of us, Edward is having the hardest time adjusting to out new life. He believes that we are abominations and forever condemned. Edward doesn't mean to take his frustrations out on others, but he can't control it yet. Edward just needs some time to get used to our new life. And Edward is resentful of you because you have transitioned beautifully to the life in a short amount of time, when Edward has been a vampire for decades and he still hasn't gotten a grasp of how to live his new life.

I nodded my head in understanding.

"You don't need to apologize for Edward's actions, Carlisle." I pushed aside his apology. By this time, we were about 100 yards from the house.

"On the contrary, I do. I am Edward's fatherly figure. It is my job to make sure that he becomes a good man. Don't get me wrong, Edward is a gentleman, his vision is just clouded right now," Carlisle sighed and looked up at the house. "It has been a pleasure talking to you. However, I assume that you would like to straighten things out with Jasper. If you have any other questions at any time, my door is always open." Carlisle slightly inclined his head and took off towards the house, leaving me to my thoughts. I waited a few moments before following Carlisle's footsteps and walking into the house.

Upon entering the house, that still took my breath away with how magnificent it was, I saw Jasper lying on once of the couches with his right arm covering his eyes; if he was human, I might think that he was taking a refreshing nap. No one else was in sight, but I could smell Carlisle upstairs and I could hear his movements upstairs.

"Where is everyone?" I questioned softly, not moving my position. I didn't know where Jasper and I stood; therefore I didn't know where I should stand.

"An extended hunting trip. They'll be back late tomorrow night. Carlisle is getting ready for work. When he gets off of his shift, he's going to join the others." The reply wasn't an unkind and rude one, but it wasn't the nicest either. Monotone.

Taking a leap of faith, I walked over to the couch where Jasper's head was laying. Picking up his head, I sat where it used to reside, and then rested his head on my lap; Jasper moved his arm that was covering his eyes, but he was still blind to what was going on around him. Carlisle came down the stairs a moment later, waving good-bye so as not to disturb us.

Needing something to do with my hands, I started to thread my fingers through Jasper's wily hair, starting at his scalp and dragging my phalanges through his hair until the ends slipped through my fingers. Then, I started the process over again. As I continued my administrations, Jasper kept leaning into my fingers more and more.

"That feels heavenly." Jasper complimented.

"I'm sorry for running off earlier Jasper. It was childish of me." Jasper opened his eyes, and watched my face.

"I know, I felt it when you were standing outside with Carlisle. You don't need to apologize to me Bella, ever." My fingers stilled midway through a stroke; Jasper's hand came up and cupped my left cheek, we stared at each other, looking at the depths of each other's eyes. Pulling my hands out of his hair, I covered his hand that cupped my cheek with my left hand. We stayed statue still for 15 minutes. Then, Jasper took his hand off of my face, brought my hand with his, and entangled them together, bringing out conjoined hands to his mouth and kissed the back of my hand; after, Jasper laid our hands by his unbeating heart, his eyes closed once more.

Enjoying the peace, I let my gaze wander around the living room; however, something of Jasper's caught my eye and stood out. I gulped. As soon as Jasper felt my uncertainty, the gates to his soul opened as he watched me.

"What is it Bella?" The concern that I heard in Carlisle's voice for Jasper was now apparent in Jasper's voice for his concern for me. Unfortunately, I couldn't move my unwavering gaze, and Jasper saw what I was staring at.

"Vampires can…" Jasper cut me off with a not so that I wouldn't have to finish my sentence.

"We can, but we can't reproduce." As I stared, Jasper got bigger. My eyes widened and I forced myself to look away. Jasper let go of my hand and stood up. "I'm very sorry Isabelle; it seems that my little _friend_ has very inopportune timing. If you'll excuse me." And then he disappeared upstairs. I could hear everything Jasper did, from his moans of pleasure to the smell of his arousal… and then his release. The scent overwhelmed the entire house, covering it with the bitter sweet scent.

When Jasper came downstairs again, I felt ashamed. And I mentally prepared myself for the beating that I would get.

"I'm sorry I didn't help you Jasper. As your mate, it is my job. As a woman, it is what I was made for." As I talked Jasper looked abashed.

"Isabelle! How could you think like that? Just because you are my mate, that doesn't mean anything. Millions of vampires have refused their mates. You need not feel obligated. You have been in an unwilling relationship for years, I'm not about to force you to do anything that you don't want to do. I don't control you Bella. You are your own person. I'm not Robert." Jasper replied. He actually looked sad that I thought he would do something like that.

"So you don't want me?" Jasper said that millions of vampires rejected their mates, was he one of them. Was I not good enough? Was this just Jasper's way of telling me nicely that he was ashamed of me.

"No Bella! You just saw that I want you. But you've only just found out about us being mated. We won't be together for a while. Not until you're ready." Everything in Jasper's voice was reassuring. There weren't any doubts in my mind anymore. I nodded, now understand what Jasper was saying. He stood there awkwardly for a moment, his hands in his pockets and he shifted his weight from foot to foot.

Standing up, I walked forward, and wrapped my arms about Jasper's waist, his honeysuckle scent over whelming me. After Jasper was sure that I was comfortable, he too wrapped his arms around me and rested his head on mine. We stayed embraced for what seemed like hours, but what I know was really only moments.

"You should drink something. Before we go to see Abigail later tonight." Jasper whispered in my ear. I wrinkled my nose in distaste. Hunting was not something that I wanted to do right now. I just wanted to stay here with Jasper, in his arms. "Come on Bella, we really should go." He sounded just like a father chiding his child. A vivid picture of Jasper and Abigail playing together flashed into my brain. It was beautiful. I snapped back to reality when I felt Jasper start to pull away from me.

"What?" I questioned, not sure of the situation.

"Isabelle, you need to go hunting." I no longer felt like a grown adult, but a young child being reprimanded.

"I don't want to go hunting though." I whined out like a little baby. Jasper rolled his eyes and smiled at me.

"Come on. You need to eat something, but you don't want to go hunting. I have the perfect situation for this." And he led me down to the basement, holding onto my hand the entire way.

The basement was cool, even for me, and there was nothing in it except for various fridges.

"What would you like to eat? We have almost every type of blood here." Jasper explained and motioned to the eight identical fridges. My curiosity must have got to Jasper because he then went on to explain. "Sometimes when a vampire is too weak to hunt we feed them packaged blood. Or in your case, when we need a meal, but don't want to go out we can get a quick snack."

I nodded my head and walked over to the closest fridge. When I opened it, I was met with dozens of bags filled with blood, each package with a neat label on it telling the onlooker what they were looking at. Finding nothing appealing in the first fridge, I moved to the next closest fridge, and found some gazelle blood that sounded appealing. Jasper was standing off to the side, watching me with interest. I took two bags out and opened them, tipping my head back and letting the cool liquid flow down my throat. Gazelle was definitely my favorite so far. The taste was sweet and savory, something that I could never tire of. Once the two bags were dry, I liked my lips and glanced at Jasper who was smiling at me.

"Satisfied?" He questioned, taking the two empty bags out of my hands and disposing them in a garbage bag that was placed by the door. I nodded me head and walked up stairs, knowing that Jasper was following behind me.

At ground level once more, I stood and waited for Jasper to reach me; not sure what we were going to do. Jasper came by my side, and we looked like the new kids at school, standing awkwardly, not sure where to put ourselves. Finally, Jasper must have had some idea, because the next thing I knew, Jasper was pulling me by my hand to take me somewhere. Curiosity flowed through me, but I didn't question Jasper as to where we were going and just went with the flow. Our destination was a small room, with shelves upon shelves of books; a few chairs were periodically placed around the room, at least one lamp was next to each chair, there was a total of three chairs.

"I don't know if you like to read or not, but I thought it might be nice to pass the time until we can go see Abigail." The way Jasper was so unsure was adorable. Deciding to answer his unasked question of if this way okay with my actions, I walked around the room, looking at all the different spines of books to see what would look interesting. When Jasper realized my antics, he smiled and then exited the room, only to come back moments later with two Civil War books in hand. By this time I had found a promising mystery novel, and curled up in a chair to read. Jasper did the same, choosing the chair that was closest to mine. Time was a nonexistent variable, we both just read to pass the time, without a care in the world for the moment. Just like a good mystery novel should, there were plenty of twists in the plot, and when I finished I was thoroughly pleased with my choice.

I looked out the only window in the room to see that it was almost dark out. Excitement flowed through me and I looked over to Jasper to see if it was time to go yet. Right when I looked at Jasper he looked up at me, a knowing smile on his face. Nodding his head, I hurried to put the book back on the shelf where I found it and then waited impatiently for Jasper to finish reading the page he was on in his second book. When he was finished, he set his books on the table next to his chair and we started to make our way to the little white house that I used to call "Home".

I wanted to run as fast as I could so that I could get to my daughter quicker, but I didn't want to leave Jasper behind, so I matched his pace. When the house was in sight, I forgot about Jasper and ran up to the tree, anxious to see my baby girl. She was already peacefully asleep when I looked in on her through the window. Jasper came up and sat next to me, wrapping an arm around my waist. Content with knowing that my child was safe, I leaned my head against Jasper's shoulder and felt at peace.

AN: I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I'm sorry for the late update. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. I'm also sorry for the mistake in the last chapter with dates. It is fixed now. Hopefully the next chapter should be up soon, I'm already working on it.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Jasper's POV

Bella's attention was entirely fixated on Abigail. Every once in a while I would watch Abigail sleep, but my attention was directed to Bella. Her luscious lips were parted slightly and they curved up in a small smile. Bella's eyes were a dark rust color, not bright amber like when she first woke up as a vampire, but not as gold as Carlisle's. The orbs never left Abigail's body, Bella glanced her daughter up and down to make sure that no harm had come to her during the day. Isabella's plump cheeks, were glowing with the happiness that her smile emitted. Her small button nose, so cute and petite, matching the rest of Bella's appearance.

When Bella asked if I didn't want her, I was shocked. How could she think that? I wanted to make love to her. Worship and kiss every inch of her goddess body. Make her moan in pleasure. Have my wicked way with her. Kiss her lips, and make her weak in the knees. Do everything imaginable to the beautiful woman sitting next to me… But I couldn't. Bella wasn't ready for that yet. Her relationship with Robert had damaged her and she needed to recover, mentally and physically. I would wait for Bella to make the first move. Until then, I would just have to live with tender kisses.

I buried my face into Bella's wonderful hair, letting her scent of sweet flowers calm me. My nose touched her neck and Bella giggled softly. Loving the sound of her laugh, I nudged her again just to hear the glorious sound.

"Jasper, what are you doing?" I could hear the smile in her voice, and I was thrilled that I made her laugh.

"Don't know." I answered, and kept up my administrations. Bella leaned as far away from me as my arm that was wrapped around her allowed. I was hurt, and looked up, wondering if I took things too far too quickly.

"Stop Jasper. It tickles." Ahh. I would have to remember that for later on. I scooted closer to Bella, not liking the space that she put between us.

"Sorry. You smell delicious." Bella rolled her eyes, but leaned into me again, her attention once more on Abigail. For a moment I felt jealous of the child, I wanted Bella all to myself. As soon as the thought entered my mind, I banished it. This was Bella's time with her daughter, at all other times, Bella was mine though. I would just have to live with it.

"What's your favorite color?" Bella asked out of the blue. Although Bella asked me a question, her attention didn't stray from Abigail. In all honesty, I hadn't ever really thought about it.

"Um…" Her question caught me off guard. Then I thought of the first day I met her, and the wonderful brown color of her eyes. "Brown. A deep, rich brown."

"Very interesting." Bella mused. I looked down at our feet that were dangling off the edge of the tree branch. Mine were still, just hanging there; Bella's however were swinging back and forth slowly. That is until she intertwined her left leg with my right. My entire body froze.

"And your's?" I questioned, needing something to distract me from out legs, and what else I wanted of ours to be intertwined.

"I would have to say that my favorite color is green." That honestly didn't surprise me. Green was the color of new floral in the Spring. Bella smelled like flowers. It suited her. "What's your favorite food?"

"When I was a human? Or now?" I guess we were going to play 20 questions.

"Both," Bella requested as eyes still didn't stray from her Sleeping Beauty.

"When I was a human, my favorite food was my Mom's Hamburger Pie. Now, I have a preference for Fox. The only problem is that if I want a sufficient meal, I have to drink from multiple foxes."

"My favorite would have to be gazelle. At least as of right now." I didn't even have to ask, Bella just presented me with her answer.

"What is your favorite holiday?" Bella questioned, taking a break from looking at her daughter to look at me.

"I would have to say, that my favorite holiday is Valentine's Day," I admitted sheepishly. Bella raised her eyebrows at me.

"Most guys wouldn't say that." Bella replied, surprise apparent on both her features, and in the tone of her words.

"You know of my ability to feel emotions, correct?" Bella nodded, keeping her eyes on me for the longest amount of time that night. "Valentine's Day is a day where you show others how much you care for them. I love feeling all the love throughout the day. It makes me happy to know that the world isn't filled with evil. That there is some good that shines through every once in a while. Living through the Civil War made me see the worst in people Bella. I prefer to see the good in people." Bella looked at me with wide eyes, amazement flowing off of her in waves. "Too sappy?" I questioned. Bella smiled, and rested her head on my shoulder.

"Just sappy enough." She announced and went back to looking over her daughter.

"Mine's New Year's. Knowing that a new year is here, that the world continues to spin. That we are growing and learning something new every day. And that we can keep growing and learning, and evolving every day." I nodded my head in appreciation of her opinion. "What's your favorite article of clothing?" An idea struck me and I moved my arm from around her waist and disentangled our legs, then stood up on the branch; it was just wide enough for my plan to work. Bella's question was forgotten as she looked at me confused.

I sat with my back resting against the trunk and straddled the branch, letting my legs hand off of either side of it. I patted the open spot between my legs, and motioned for Bella to sit there. Realizing my plan, Bella stood up, and then sat down in between my legs. At first she was stiff and rigid, sitting up tall and not letting our bodies touch too much. Gently, I reached forward, and placed my hands on her shoulders, coaxing her to come and sit closer to me and lean against my chest. After Bella got more comfortable, realizing that this was as far as I was going to take it, she scooted back into me so that her rear was right by Jr. and her back was pressed into my chest, her head resting on my left shoulder and her head twisted to look through Abigail's window; I rested my head on her right shoulder.

"I would have to say a simple sundress on a beautiful girl. The simplest things are the best in my opinion. Flashy items are just boring, because then you don't get to see who someone really is." The smallest, simplest things are what I appreciated in life the most. I wrapped my arms around Bella's waist, bringing her even closer to me.

"I like a man's button down shirt." This surprised me.

"And why, may I ask, is that?" My curiosity level was at its peak and I couldn't wait to hear her answer.

"I think they look nice on a guy." She was hiding something from me; I could feel it in her emotions. I pushed some courage her way, and waited for the outcome. "And I've always wanted to wear one. Especially, after a night of love making." Her confession was quiet, as if she was embarrassed about her preferences. I took away her embarrassment and made her feel acceptance. I wasn't going to judge; I'd love to see her in one of my shirts after a night of love making. It sounded amazing.

"How would you propose to someone?" WHAT?

"I beg your pardon," I narrowed my eyes and concentrated on what she was saying. I don't think I heard her properly.

"I asked you how you would propose to someone." Okay, so I did hear her properly. Great. I took a deep breath and got ready to answer the question that could lead a man to his demise.

"It depended on the woman. And when I was ready to propose. Personally, I think it would be more romantic, if the guy didn't make a moment to propose, but waited for the right moment to ask the question. But if I thought that the woman I was going to ask would want something fancy and planned out, then I would do that. The moment wouldn't only be mine, but someone else's also. I would want to think of what they wanted also. I wouldn't do all the clichés, something that would be special to the both of us, something that we would remember for the rest of our lives together."

"That sounds sweet. When Robert proposed to me, he had the bedroom garnished in Rose petals and he got down on one knee." I couldn't contain my growl at the mention of his name. "Sorry," Bella apologized, realizing that she was bringing up a touchy subject. "Did you want kids, when you were human?" I didn't miss the fact that Bella hadn't answered he proposal question. Now we were getting into the more personal topics.

"Sometimes I thought about it. Never in great detail though. Do you want more kids?" If she did I would feel terrible, not being able to give my mate something that she wanted would kill me.

"Yes. I always wanted a big family. Robert only wanted one child though. And what he said was law." I growled at the mention of his name again and hearing how he dominated her.

"I'm sorry that you can't have any more of your own kids anymore Bella. You could always adopt if you felt the urge to though. That's what Carlisle and Esme did, they adopted all of us. Not from orphanages, but they are our parents. We don't need official papers or blood tests to tell us that." Bella was quiet, still looking at her daughter.

"Do you ever want to be married?" Isabella took one of my hands in hers and laced them together.

"Yes Bella, someday I would like to be married to you. Would you be willing to remarry?" This was the major question. Given enough time, would Bella be able to start another serious relationship?

"Yes, Jasper, I would like to be married to you sometime in the future." I smiled in satisfaction. Nothing could have made me happier than what Bella just told me. She wanted to have a future with me; she wanted to be with me forever. I couldn't contain the joy that seeped off of me in waves. I was elated. As I waited for Bella's next questing, I looked down at our hands to occupy myself. "What did you want to be when you where a human?" This question would make me think, so that I could remember. It took me a couple moments, but the light bulb flashed on inside my head.

"When I was younger, I wanted to be a journalist. Writing about History and getting the facts. Then the Civil War erupted and I wanted to fight in the Army for what I thought was right." Now that I was thinking about it, I could remember walking around my house, with a notepad and pen, always ready to take notes on a story if anything life changing was going to happen.

"I wanted to be a school teacher. Then I had Abigail and I became a stay at home Mom." I could easily picture Bella being a teacher. Spending all day with little kids, teaching them new things every day. It was a pretty picture.

"You still can be Bella. Once you get your blood lust under control, you can go back into town and be around humans. Carlisle is a doctor; he goes in to work every other day and works miracles. Esme and Alice are designers; Alice creates clothes and Esme does home decorating sometimes. Rose doesn't go out very much, she's really cautious around humans; if a human finds out about are secret or gets suspicious that we aren't human, we have to move to a new place. Rose doesn't like moving, and because Emmett is her mate, so he stands by her. Every once in a while Edward will go into town and play the piano at a joint. Just because you're a vampire doesn't mean you can't ever go back to the human world. You just have to be careful." I could feel Bella's happiness pouring off of her when she realized that she wasn't as confined as she thought.

"Do you like going into towns and seeing the humans?" Bella questioned me. I sighed. How should I explain this to her?

"Bella. When I was with Maria, we drank from humans. It has been very hard for me to change to Carlisle's lifestyle. The smell of warm human blood tempts me often when I go into towns, so I try to stay away from them." I explained in the best way that I could.

"Oh." And then she was silent. No more questions were asked, and I couldn't help but wonder if Bella resented me because I loved the taste of human blood running down my throat at one point in my life.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**Bella's POV**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it**

I didn't need to be an empath to know that some of my questions shocked Jasper. But he always answered, no matter how forward they were. Worries about Jasper not answering my questions truthfully never crossed my mind. I knew from past experiences, that some men would just say what they thought the woman would want to hear, just so that the man could get the woman to like him better, and then he would bed her. Jasper's answers were truly what he did want and think. And that made me smile.

As sunrise was approached on swift wings, Jasper started to untangle himself from me. I knew that was my sign that it was time to go. I stood up, and looked at my _fille _once more, before swiftly and silently jumping off the branch and onto the ground. Jasper followed my lead in the same manner.

Once we were both on the ground again, I noticed that Jasper had become extremely quiet. He was standing tall, with his eyes looking over my head at something that only he could see. His golden eyes were slightly glazed over and unfocused. A slight breeze passed through the trees, making Jasper's already unruly hair, even messier. But what worried me the most was that, as I walked closer to him, Jasper didn't even seem to notice me. I placed my hand on his waist, by the hem of his shirt.

Only then, did I realize that the breeze moved more than his hair. Jasper's shirt was long enough that it should have been under my hand. But the wind picked it up, and it fluttered with the wind. So now I was touching Jasper's side, skin to skin.

My eyes widened at the realization at the same time Jasper's did. His gaze snapped down to me, his unwavering orbs staring deeply at me, seeing things that only he had ever seen. The breeze settled, and his shirt came to rest on top of my hand. The sun started to shine through the trees, warming our skin and making us sparkle.

I ignored the sun, because what captured my attention was much more interesting. Under my hand rested raised skin in the shape of a crescent. My brow furrowed, and I lifted Jasper's shift slightly higher to inspect. He lifted his hand to stop me, but I brushed his hand away and continued what I was doing. My eyes widened in surprise at what I saw. It was a scar!

As I lifted his shirt more, I saw more scars. To save me the trouble of lifting his shirt higher, Jasper gently moved my hand, and started to unbutton his shirt. As his muscles moved and contracted, I paid no attention to them, but to the scars that he was showing me. They covered his entire torso, and I could see more peaking out from the waistline of his slacks. Now, I couldn't help but notice the sun and how it made us sparkle. Jasper's torso was beautifully sculpted, and sparkling only made him look more magnificent. But while his skin sparkled, his scars didn't, and the contrast was breathtaking. Tentatively, I took my index finger, and gently ran it over one of the raised crescents. He shivered, and I stopped momentarily to look at face and to gage his reaction. Jasper's eyes were closed and his nostrils flared as he took some deep, unnecessary, breaths. I didn't even have to ask him to explain what I was looking at, Jasper just started to talk.

"When I worked with Maria, killing and training newborns, I got hurt a lot. When a vampire bites something, the venom prevents the skin from healing fully." I moved my hand and traced a scar on his right shoulder. Then, I walked around him, and saw more on his back.

"Everywhere?" I questioned. Jasper just nodded his head. "And they'll never fade? Ever?" Jasper swallowed, and a choked "No" met my ears. He was upset about this, embarrassed by his scars. "Good." I said. He looked at me bewildered.

"Y-y-you like th-them?" I came around to face him. A particular scar, which rested on his left pectoral, caught my attention. I leaned closer to it, and kissed the scar gently.

"I love them. They tell me who you were before I met you. Your past transformed you into the man you are today. And I really like who you are today. I don't want you to change." Jasper still looked confused.

"You don't care that I killed people? You don't care that I drank human blood?" he asked incredulously. I shook my head and rested my head against his chest and wrapped my arms around his waist. Jasper wrapped his arms hesitantly around me, resting his head on mine when he realized that I wasn't going to leave him just because he had some unpleasant skeletons in his closet.

We stayed like that for a moment, letting the sun caress and warm our normally frigid skin. Eventually, Jasper pulled away and slid his shirt back on before he held out his hand for me to take. We walked back in the direction of the house, enjoying each other's company. As we got closer to the house, Jasper halted abruptly, causing me to be jerked back because out hands were still intertwined. My gaze flitted everywhere around us, trying to find the danger that I thought Jasper sensed, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary to me. So I settled my gaze of Jasper, waiting for him to tell me what had made him pause. Feeling my curiosity, Jasper looked at me and then touched his finger to my nose.

"Use your nose darlin'. Tell me what you smell." Jasper chided me. Lifting my head up to the sky, I breathed in deeply, trying to find what fascinated Jasper so. Then it hit me. The scents were so familiar now. Even though I had only been with my vampire family for a couple of days, I would know their scents anywhere. They were back. Early. Now understanding his confusion, I looked to Jasper for affirmation that I had found what he had found. He nodded.

We walked with a purpose now, hurrying to figure out why everyone came back from the hunting trip early. Was someone hurt? Did a human find out about our secret? The thoughts kept filtering in, and each time a new scenario popped into my head, it was worse than the last. Feeling my anxiety, Jasper sent over waves of calm to me. _Keep your head on straight Bella; you don't know what happened yet. Relax._ I told myself. If anything had happened to my new family, I'd need to be strong for Jasper. He would need my support if one his family had been in danger and gotten killed and he hadn't been there to help save them.

The house came into our view, and Jasper and I were all but running towards it to see what was going on. When we entered the house, Esme was calmly cleaning up the already spotless living room.

"Is everything okay? Why are you back so early?" Jasper questioned hurriedly. Esme looked up, curious as to why we had burst into the house so brusquely. Before Esme had a chance to response, Edward came into the room, but Jasper paid no attention to him.

"Well, well, well. You've got yourself a whore Jasper. She's still married, and yet she's already having sex with another man. I almost wish she was my mate now." Edward said. Jasper's attention moved from the taken aback Esme to the sneering Edward.

"Edward!" Esme admonished, not believing the words that were coming out of her oldest son's mouth. Jasper snarled and lunged for Edward, not tolerating the jibe thrown at me. My eyes were wide with horror as I watched my usually calm and collected Jasper transform into a violent rampage. Emmett, who had just come in, was right in Jasper's way of tackling Edward. Blinded by hatred, Jasper was unable to move out of the way and he crashed into Emmett. A thunderous boom sounded throughout the room, and both Emmett and Jasper fell down onto the floor, making a rather large dent in Esme's nice floors. My eyes widened in fear at the sudden overload of testosterone in the room, and I took a couple steps back just as Rose, Alice, and Carlisle all raced into the room.

Jasper got up and searched wildly for Edward, not at all fazed by his collision with Emmett. But Edward was not where he had been before Jasper ran into Emmett. Much too worked up and alarmed by the situation, I didn't realize until it was too late that Edward was behind me. Until I felt his cool breath at my ear as he started whispering to me.

"Do you think you could please me too? Like you did for dear old Jazzy? I would really appreciate it, I get so lonely sometimes. Living an eternity without anyone pleasing me. And since you're a whore, I figure that you'd have no trepidations about helping me out in my time of _need._" he snarled out and emphasized the last word, forcing me to realize the double meaning behind his words as he ran his creepy hands up and down my bare arms. I froze, knowing that, like Robert, if Edward wanted me to please him then I would have no choice but to submit or get beat. Jasper gaze darted to us and his eyes flashed dangerously at Edward leaning provocatively closer to me, knowing the reaction it would get out of Jasper. Seeing the intent of murder in Jasper's eyes, Emmett and Carlisle quickly went to subdue him, knowing that it would tear the family apart if one of their own killed another, even if Edward was a callous ass. Jasper fought relentlessly against his captors, dying to get his hands around Edward's neck and wring his throat before yanking off his head.

I could see Jasper's mouth moving, but I couldn't hear anything that was being said. The only thing that was registering in my mind was that I still wasn't safe. I was still going to get taken against my will even though I would never be with Robert again. I remained numb, forcing myself to look at Jasper's beautiful face so I wouldn't focus on what Edward was doing to me.

I don't know how long I stayed in my stupor, but one minute I was lost to the world, and the next, Jasper was surrounding me with his beautiful and strong body. He enveloped me in his arms tightly, kissing the top of my head, trying to get me to stop shaking.

"Hush now. It's alright Isabella. Calm down." With a combination of his sweet words, and soothing waves of tranquility I was slowly able to calm down. When my quivers had subsided Jasper cupped my face in his hands, forcing me to look him the eye. His eyes were dark, and full of anger and hatred. Looking into them, I found my own buried deep inside of me. I had promised myself not too long ago that once I got out of Robert's grasp, I wouldn't let another man have that kind of control over me again. I promised myself that I'd be a stronger woman role model for my daughter, my _fille_. I'd die if she ended up in the same type of relationship that I'd been in with Robert because that's what she had grown up knowing. I couldn't let that happen. I _wouldn't_.

Pulling away from Jasper, I followed my nose outside to find Alice and Rose wrestling with Edward as he tried to get free. "Bella," Jasper called out, but I didn't answer him, now that I had gathered my courage and anger, nothing was going to stop me. Even though I didn't look back, I could smell Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, and Jasper all follow me outside of the house. Carlisle, Esme, and Emmett stood off to the side, ready to intervene if necessary, but Jasper continued coming closer to me, talking softly to me and trying to coax me into going back into the house. "Jasper," Alice warned, and Emmett put a restraining hand on Jasper's shoulder. I heard Jasper growl at Alice as he voiced his displeasure at being held back once again. I ignored him, choosing to march over to Edward, who had stopped thrashing about when he noticed me coming closer. A smug look appeared on his face as he thought that I was going to him to give him what he wanted. The bastard! Instead, I slapped him hard on the cheek.

"Don't you dare call me a whore again, you _fils de pute_! You had no right!" I shouted into his face. I could feel everyone's stares on me, but I continued, unable to stop now that I had started. Edward just looked at me, shocked that I had smacked him. This time, I punched him by his left eye. "I _jamais_ did anything with Jasper. Even though it's not your business. And Robert has declared that we are no longer married. So it wouldn't matter if I did anything with Jasper. But I am not a whore!" I spit out the last word, and then spat at his feet. "I am sick and tired of you being an _âne_ to everyone in this family. They have done nothing but nice things for you, and this is how you treat them? Just because you are having trouble adjusting, doesn't mean that you need to take it out on others! And you need to stop tormenting me, because I've had enough!" To enunciate my speech, I punched him one more time and then, on a whim, kicked him in the balls. Rose and Alice let go of Edward as he bent over double, muttering profanities under his breath. Because even though he was a vampire, he was still a male.

I took a deep breath and smiled to myself. I had done it. I had finally stood up to a man instead of just giving in to his demands. And I had never felt better in my entire life. I didn't even wince to show the pain that I'd felt after hitting Edward's rock hard skin, but knowing that I'd caused him just as much pain, if not more, made it worthwhile.

I turned to look at the people behind me, wondering if I was out of line. Carlisle and Esme just stood there, slightly gob smacked. Emmett, Rose, and Alice all had big grins on their faces. And Jasper, my Jasper, was emitting nothing but pride and adoration, with just a hint of worry. He came up to me, and kissed my forehead, and then he slowly descended his lips to mine, giving me enough time to get comfortable with the idea.

Jasper's lips felt heavenly against mine, so soft and gentle, yet firm. They enticed me to continue the kiss, to put myself out there more to see where else the kiss could lead us. It was nothing like Robert's demanding and harshness. Jasper took my bottom lip in between his, and gently sucked on it. I moaned softly, loving the sensation as my knees grew a bit weak and I held onto his forearm for support. When he released my lip, his arms came around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held onto him just as tightly.

And for the first time, I didn't care that there were others around us, that they could be watching Jasper and I share this intimate moment. All that mattered was that I was in Jasper's arms and he was in mine. He leaned down, and rested his forehead on mine, smiling. I was sure I looked the same. He disentangled our bodies and grabbed the hand that I used to slap Edward and brought it to his mouth to kiss. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop him. I should've fought them harder, I should've…" I placed my mouth against his, effectively shutting him up.

"I'm fine, Jasper. Nothing happened to me. And I needed to do that. I needed to stand up for myself. And Edward needed to be put in his place. You couldn't have known he was going to do that. You have no need to feel guilty since there is nothing to feel guilty over." He tried to argue, but I just kissed him again. Realizing that I wasn't going to budge on the topic, he just smiled slightly.

"I love you." he said. My eyes widened at his revelation. I knew that he did love me, ever since he told me that we were mates, I could see it in his actions towards me, but this still shocked me.

"I-I…" Jasper cut me off before I could attempt to finish what I was trying to say.

"I don't want you to feel pressured to tell me just because I told you. Tell me when you are ready Isabella. If you ever feel like I'm pressuring you, just tell me and I'll do my best to fix it." I nodded my head, unable to speak. I glanced around, noticing that no one was in sight.

"Where did everyone go?" I didn't even realize that they had left in the first place. Jasper's brow furrowed.

"They left a while ago Bella. Use your nose and ears, that's what our heightened senses are for." I dropped my head, ashamed that I had disappointed Jasper. "Don't feel that way Isabella. I didn't intend to make you feel that way. You are still new to being a vampire, I'm just telling you for future reference. I worry about you, my beautiful mate." He forced me to look up at him by lifting my chin. "Then again, after the show you put on today, I suppose you won't need me to protect you anymore. I'm so proud of you, Isabella." I smiled at his praise. "Please don't scare me like that in the future though. I thought I'd lost you." I nodded my understanding and Jasper pulled me close to him again and buried his face into my neck, loosing himself in my scent but still successfully leading me into the house.

Edward, Carlisle, and Esme stood in front of the stairs that led up to Jasper's room, our destination. There was no physical evidence apparent on Edward's face that I had punched and slapped him multiple times, but there was plenty of it in his eyes. Jasper halted us and looked at his brother with pure spite.

"Move." He commanded and moved me behind him. Edward looked up once and caught my gaze over Jasper's shoulder before he looked away again and moved out of the way. Esme smiled reassuringly at me while Jasper kept me as far away from Edward as he could as we walked the stairs to his room where we sat in each other's company for the rest of the day.

**Translations:**

_Fille – daughter_

_Fils de pute – son of a bitch_

_Jamais – never_

_Âne - ass_


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**Bella's POV**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**Story Recommendations:**

** A Pound of Flesh by: jaxon22 (Twilight/Work in progress)**

** Calm Before the Storm by: House Elf Educator (Harry Potter/Work in Progress)**

Two weeks had passed since I slapped Edward, and I hadn't seen him since. That evening, Jasper and I went to go to our tree to watch Abigail sleep, and when we came back Edward and Alice were gone. I immediately questioned Jasper about their whereabouts, but he didn't give me a clear answer. All he told me was that they weren't going to be around for a while. Something told me that there was more to it though. Especially since there had been a couple days when I decided to adventure by myself outside in the woods and when I started on my way back to the house, I heard everyone murmuring indistinctly and then suddenly becoming silent when I got closer and could make out their words easier.

At first I was confused as to why they were being so secretive, but I dismissed it as private family business and they were talking about things that didn't concern me. But the more I thought about it, the more this confused me because ever since I had come to stay with Jasper and his family, they had been so welcoming and inviting, except Edward. They made me feel like a part of their family, like I belonged with them and we were all equals. I cherished every moment of that, to be liked and welcomed for me just being me. That had never happened with Robert, he always belittled me and made me feel worthless. It was refreshing and comforting to be treated differently, to be embraced with open arms.

Now, though, I felt like that invitation into their home and family was being rescinded. I was met with what felt like false cheerfulness from Rose and Esme. Emmett and Carlisle were polite but kept their distance, and Jasper started to withdraw from me. He would always be off doing his own thing, the only time he would talk to me were the times when we would go see my Abigail, and even then conversation was sparse.

It was clear that they were mad at me because I was tearing their family apart.

Their callousness hurt more than I wanted to admit. Even though I had only been with them for a couple weeks, I had gotten so used to the atmosphere at their house and it was freeing not to be stressed out and pressured all the time. But good things never last, that much was clearly true.

It was clear that I was no longer welcome in their home, so I decided to plan the most logical idea.

I was going to leave tonight.

I wasn't going to stay where I wasn't welcome. Jasper told me that we were mates, and that we would be together for the rest of our lives. But he also told me that mates could be rejected. It was obvious that that's what he was doing to me, for I had never felt pain like this before. It felt like knives were stabbing my unbeating heart over and over again, slowly tearing me apart.

I was just glad that it wasn't hard to hide my feelings from Jasper. When I was with Robert, I had to be blank faced all the time. If I was too happy, Robert got mad, if I was upset, Robert got mad. So I got very good at hiding all my emotions and reactions. Feelings meant vulnerability, and I refused to give Jasper that power over me.

I had already gathered my soft pink blanket, jewelry box, and a couple of the outfits that Alice had made me in a sack. I was going to leave tonight, right before Jasper and I would normally leave, and I would go get my Abigail and some clothes for her, and then we'd leave together. We would start over somewhere new. Together. And that's all that mattered.

No longer would we settle for second best or accommodating. I was going to provide for my _bebe_ better and show her what she deserves in life. Nothing but the best.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

Everyone was off doing their own thing. Carlisle was in his office working on some medical paper, Esme had gone for a short hunting trip by herself, Emmett and Rose were in their room having… intercourse, and Jasper was secluded in his room reading a book. It was the perfect time for me to make my leave. So I grabbed my pack and left as quietly as possible, hoping that the sounds and smells Emmett and Rose were making would cover my escape.

And I ran.

**Jasper's POV**

I set my book down and left my room to search out Isabella so we could go see her daughter. "Bella," I called out, waiting for a response. When none came, my brow furrowed and I listened to my eyes and ears to figure out where she was as alarm started to fill me. "Bella! Bella where are you?" I continuously called out, searching through every room just in case my nose and ears were betraying me.

"Jasper? What's going on?" a concerned Carlisle questioned. Emmett and Rose stood behind him but I ignored them, storming through the house now as panic set in. "Jasper," Carlisle prompted as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "What's going on?"

My eyes were wide in fear and I heaved unnecessary breaths as I tried to grasp what had happened. "Bella," I choked out. "She's gone. I have to go find her. I don't know where she could have gone. I don't know _why_ she left." I started pacing, running my hands frustratingly through my hair as I thought about the best way to take care of the situation. I couldn't track her because her scent would be too old and the uncharacteristically strong wind would have me going in circles for the rest of my life.

"Jasper," Carlisle chided as he placed his hands on my shoulders to still my movements. "You need to calm down and think about this rationally. Where would Bella go?" My eyes flashed open in realization and I pulled away from Carlisle, intent on getting to Bella before an accident happened with Abigail and she did something she would instantly regret. But before I could leave the house, Carlisle grabbed ahold of my wrist and detained me. I turned to face him, hissing when he didn't let go of me.

"Jasper!" Carlisle reprimanded. But I couldn't be calmed. My mate was out there all alone, and if she went to Abigail and ended up doing something that she would eventually regret, I knew it would be all my fault for not watching her better.

"Let. Me. Go." I said through clenched teeth.

But Carlisle only shook his head and held on tighter. "Think about it Jasper. She obviously ran away for a reason. If you go running after her without thinking this through, you could frighten her even more, or worse, send her running again. Bella's blood lust control is remarkable for a newborn vampire. I'm sure she was just missing her daughter and now she's sitting in that tree that you two are so fond of, watching her Abigail play in her room. Bella's not a stupid woman. She wouldn't intentionally hurt her daughter. You need to go in with a level head. Do you understand?"

Reluctantly, I nodded my head and tried to force myself to calm down and relax my tense muscles. "Good," he praised, and released my wrist from his grasp. "Now let's go get your mate back. You remember what I said?" Carlisle questioned. I nodded my head impatiently, anxious to have my mate back in my arms. Carlisle sent a look to Emmett and Rose, silently asking them if they were coming. Two resolute nods was his answer. And then we were off.

As we ran to Bella's old home, I could smell small traces of her scent, but they were at least a couple hours old. My breathing became more frantic. When we reached our tree and Bella was nowhere in sight, I emitted a pained groan. I turned around to look a Carlisle, hoping that he would know what to do. Emmett and Rose stood behind him, grave looks upon their faces as the gazed upon the empty tree. My gaze turned to the house and I strained to hear the soft _thump thump_ of a human's heartbeat.

Nothing.

But I couldn't smell blood either, which was a small reprieve. But that didn't necessarily mean anything. Without waiting for Carlisle's instruction, I jumped up into our tree, landed on the branch, and then vaulted myself through Abigail's closed bedroom window.

I felt the glass shatter around me and cut into my clothes, but I remained uncut. I landed on my two feet and looked frantically around Abigail's room as Carlisle, Emmett, and Rose followed my lead and entered the room to see what I saw.

Abigail wasn't in the room. In fact, not much was. The drawers in Abigail's wooden dresser had obviously been looked through and all her clothes were gone. The few dolls and toys that had been here when Abigail had her nightmare were gone. The small bed was divested of its sheets, pillows, and blankets.

Emmett silently left the room to look around the rest of the house to see what he could find. I fell to the ground, unsure of what to do or think as I continued to look around Abigail's room.

Emmett came back into the room only moments later, a grim look on his face. "The bastard's dead," he announced. "Drank himself into oblivion. The car is gone and the cabinets were scavenged through for food. There's barely anything left."

It was obvious that Bella had run away and she'd taken Abigail with her.

My body shook as the realization that my mate was really, truly gone took over me. Rose knelt down beside me and placed a dainty had gently on my shoulder. "We'll find her Jasper," she said reassuringly. Carlisle and Emmett both nodded their agreement.

_Bella._ I called out desperately, hoping, praying, wondering, if I would get a response. If I would ever see her beautiful face again.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**Jasper's POV**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**Story Recommendations:**

** Crashing Head On by: HopelessRomantic79 (Twilight/Completed)**

** Consent to Release by: HopelessRomantic79 (Twilight/Completed)**

**Joke:**

** Why do gorillas have such big fingers?**

**Because they have such big noses.**

**Author's Note:**

**So I'm happy to announce that I finally have my shit together. I've thought long and hard about my schedule and I've come up with a plan that will fit my real world life. So here's the plan: I Will Never Leave You Lonely (IWNLYL) will be update every Wednesday and I will respond to reviews with comments and excerpts on Saturday. A New Life (ANL) will be updated every Saturday and I will respond to reviews with comments and excerpts on Wednesday. I already have the next couple of chapters already in the making, so you won't have to wait long. While I intend to stick to this schedule as much as possible, I can't see the future, so something might come up every once in a while that prevents me from updating. I'm sorry, I know that sucks, but there isn't much I can do about life when it decides to be a bitch.**

**Song:**

**You'll be in my Heart by Phil Collins**

It had been two agonizingly long months since I had last seen my mate, my Bella. I had no idea where she had run off to, I had no idea if Abigail was alive, and I had no idea how to start tracking her. Since she got in her car and drove off, the cars fumes covered up her scent, and every day, even with my superior smelling, her scent was becoming scarcer and scarcer to the point where it was almost non-existent now. And she had never told me anything about her life before Robert. We hadn't had the chance to…

All I did during the day and night was try in vain to track whatever was left of her scent. I didn't eat. I didn't stop. I didn't talk to anyone. Only very rarely did I return back to the house and I was sure that my eyes were a bottomless pit of pitch black. I could tell that Carlisle and Esme were worried about me, but I didn't care. The only thing I worried about was finding my Isabella. So far I'd searched the entire state of Louisiana. But I hadn't found anything. My next step was to cross the border into Mississippi and see if I could find any trace of her there.

I was sitting in our tree, remembering our time together when I heard two sets of footsteps approaching from afar and a little girl laughing.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

**Bella's POV**

"Wakey, wakey my little _bebe_," I cooed. "It's time to get ready for another new day." Abigail's eyelids fluttered open and she smiled when she saw my face.

"Morning Mommy. What'd you make for breakfast today?"

"I made your favorite…" Abigail's eyes widened in excitement and she scrambled out of bed and down to the kitchen at the promise of freshly baked rolls with sausage and butter. I smiled as I watched her little form disappear. My smile faltered, however, when I realized that today marked the two months since I had left Jasper and his family and I couldn't help but think about the day that I left.

_**Flashback**_

___I never stopped running and I never looked back as I made my way to my old home. I was going to get my daughter and then we'd leave everything behind us. We'd start somewhere new with each other. Which was all we'd ever need._

_ As I came upon the house, I looked up to Abigail's window and was thankful that the wind was open to let in the cool night air. I jumped up, landed without a sound in the room, and quickly roused Abigail from her peaceful slumber._

_ "Mommy? You came back?" she questioned._

_ "Yes baby. It's Mommy. Do you want to take a trip with me baby? Just you and me?" I saw Abigail's face lite up as she nodded enthusiastically, no longer plagued by sleep. "Okay. Why don't you start packing your clothes and some toys in a bag. Can you do that for Mommy?" My daughter nodded again and jumped off the bed, going to her dresser to start putting her clothes away._

_ I smiled at her enthusiasm and ran a hand through her hair before I left her room and walked through the house until I came upon my own room. As I stood before the closed door, my nose wrinkled in protest at the foul stench emitting from the crack between the door and floor. Something that smelled strangely like…_

_ I opened the door and wasn't surprised to see Robert passed out on the bed, an empty bottle of whiskey in his hand and another two on the floor. I froze for a minute, realizing that I was looking upon the man who was supposed to be my loving husband, but who had practically killed me. I shivered, and for a minute contemplated turning back, but I knew that my daughter and I would need money. Knowing that he wouldn't wake up if he drank himself into oblivion, gave me reassurance as I walked into the room and went to the dresser and closet. Although Robert beat me, he always liked to give me expensive presents like jewelry and fine dresses. Seeing as I didn't have much of a liking for either, I would sell them to get money to support Abigail and I until I could stand to be around other humans._

_ I was just about to leave the room with all the jewelry and dresses that I would need before I realized that in the time that I'd been in the room, I'd never heard Robert breath once. I looked to his prone body once again and watched for the steady rise and fall of his chest or the whisper of his breath._

_ But there was nothing._

_ Robert, the man who had terrorized and killed me, was dead. I didn't know if I should mourn or celebrate. I decided to go with indifference for now, knowing that the most important thing was to get my daughter and get safely out of town without anyone recognizing me._

_ Shoving all the jewelry and dresses in a couple bags, I quickly left the room and went back to check on my daughter. She was sitting on her bed with one of her favorite dolls with three bags next to her that were filled neatly with all her toys, clothes, and whatever else she needed. I smiled at her and picked up all the bags in one hand, offering the other to my Abigail. She looked up at me with nothing buy trust in her gaze. It was then that I realized that I hadn't even been tempted by Abigail's blood once. I smiled, proud of myself, but even more so when I did smell her blood, now that I was paying more attention, and it didn't make me think of a meal._

_ After I wrote a note to my Great Aunt, telling her that Abigail was fine and that I was taking her with me, Abigail and I walked out to the car. After helping Abigail in and putting all the bags in, I started the car and drove away._

_**End of Flashback**_

"Mommy!" I heard my daughter cry out from the kitchen of the secluded cabin that I'd found in some woods in Missouri. "There's a strange man and woman here to see you. They say their names are Edward and Alice and they're pretty people just like you. Can I let them in?" My eyes flashed wide in fear and I raced downstairs to see my daughter standing in front of the open front door with a buttered roll, with Alice and Edward Cullen standing right outside my house.

**Jasper's POV**

Shortly after I heard the little girl laughing, I realized quickly that it wasn't my Bella and Abigail. The strangers' scents wafted over to me on the slight breeze and I recoiled at the foul stench. Then again, I considered everything foul compared to Bella's softly sweet scent.

Resigned, I slumped back against the trunk of the tree and closed my eyes. I had never felt this horrible, this miserable, before. Not even when I was fighting for Maria in the war. Emptiness was over me, not even the little girl's happiness could bring me joy. The only person that could ran away from me, for whatever reason.

**Bella's POV**

I quickly moved Abigail behind me as I faced the two vampires, but my Abigail moved out of my grasp and moved to stand in front of Edward, holding out her soggy roll to him. "Want some? My Mommy makes the bestest rolls ever."

"Abigail," I scolded. "What have I told you about talking to strangers?" I quickly picked her up and rested her on my hip, turning my body so that I was between them. My eyes narrowed with complete distrust of Edward. And I growled low in my throat. "I don't want you here. I don't want you near my daughter. I don't trust you. _Any_ of you." Although my eyes never left Edward, my words were for both of them. Alice hesitantly took a step towards me and I hissed at her.

"We're not here to hurt you, Bella. We just want to talk. See how you're doing, ask why you left. Jasper's worried sick about you. He isn't taking care of himself and we're all worried about him."

"I don't care about any of you. Just leave me and my daughter alone," I said, forcing myself to ignore the twinge of pain at Jasper's name.

"But Mommy, you've been sad all the time. Maybe Ms. Alice and Mr. Edword can help you to feel better." I ignored my daughter, focused on trying to convince the two vampires that I was better off without them, that I didn't care about Jasper or their family anymore, and that I really wanted them to leave.

"Please leave," I requested quietly. "My daughter and I have made a new life for ourselves. Don't ruin it for me. For us." Alice's gaze softened.

"We're not here to take your daughter away from you, Bella. We'd never do that. We just want to talk. Find out why you left."

"Why," I demanded. "Your family made it pretty clear that I wasn't wanted. Why would I want to talk to you now?" Alice's brow furrowed.

"Why on earth would you think you weren't welcome at home? Jasper loves you and everyone else is thrill that he's found his mate. There has to be some misunderstanding. Jasper's over the moon about you. I've talked to him about it myself and Edward says you're all he thinks about."

"Well something changed. Ever since you two left your family has blamed me for tearing you guys apart. No one would talk to me. Not even Jasper."

Alice's eyes widened in shock and even Edward seemed taken aback by my statement. "What do you mean 'tearing apart'? Edward and I were just taking a little vacation of sorts. We were never going to stay away forever. We both just needed some time away. In fact, we were on our way back home when I thought I smelled your scent in town as we were passing by so we decided to check it out. Did anyone actually say that they blamed you?"

"Well…no, but their actions spoke louder than words ever could." Alice turned to Edward and they had a silent conversation and I couldn't help be annoyed that they were practically talking about me behind my back. While I waited, I looked to my uncharacteristically quiet daughter who was still nibbling on her roll and watching Edward curiously. Too curiously for my liking.

When Alice and Edward finished their conversation, Alice turned back to me, a pleading look upon her face. "Could we please come in, Bella? We really need to talk to you. Jasper's probably out of his mind with worry."

My eyes flashed in anger. "Jasper made his feelings quite clear to me. As did the rest of your family. Now _leave_!"

Alice looked taken aback by my outburst but Edward remained detached, a cold blank look on his face.

"I can't leave Bella. I consider you to be my sister. How can I leave if I know that something is obviously troubling you." I was about to say that nothing was bothering me when she interrupted me. "And don't you dare try to tell me that something isn't bothering you because something that to make you leave. What if we don't talk about Jasper and we just reconnect? I haven't seen you in _ages_," I rolled my eyes at her over-exaggeration, but let her continue. "And I've yet to meet your beautiful little girl."

I eyed her wearily, wondering if she had something up her sleeve. She looked innocent enough, though, with her sweet smile and bright, caring eyes. Edward on the other hand… My gaze snapped to him, but he seemed to be lost in thought about something. As if Alice sense the direction of my thought, she too looked to her brother, placing a hand gently on his forearm to bring him back to the present. "Edward won't hurt you or Abigail, will you Edward?" Edward looked to his sister then to my daughter, and finally to me. Slowly, he shook his head.

I scoffed and held my daughter tighter to me. "And I'm supposed to believe everything you say?"

"Please, Bella? I've missed you." I softened at Alice's puppy dog pout and bit my lip, still indecisive.

"Are the Pretty People coming in Mommy?" Abigail finally spoke up.

I felt the decision weighing down on me when I finally answered, wondering if I would regret my decision. "Yes, _bebe_, the Pretty People are going to come in." I saw Alice's look of delight and quickly added, "But they can only stay for a little while because we have some errands to run today." Abigail smiled at the thought of company, but frowned slightly when errands were mention later. Abigail didn't really like to wait around in the stores while we were making our purchases, she much rather preferred to be playing outside.

She shrugged, though, and tried to wiggle out of my arms to get down. After her tiny feet hit the floor, she ran to Edward. "You're very pretty Mr. Edword. But you didn't brush your hair when you woke up dis morning. Can I brush your hair for you? Mommy says I have pretty hair but I need to take care of it or it'll all go away. You'll loose all your pretty hair too if you don't take care of it. You can have a roll while I'm brushing your hair, too. Mommy makes the bestest rolls!" My exuberant young daughter looked pensive for a moment. "Did I already say that?" Edward nodded and the corner of his mouth lifted up slightly in a small smile. The first form of any happy expression I'd ever seen on him. She shrugged her shoulders at her redundancy. "Oh well," she said. "It just makes it two times truer now." Edward fully smiled and it even took my breath away.

His face transformed from something depressing and tormented into something free and happy. No longer were the signs of strain and frustration creases apparent on his face. "You should smile more too," she declared. "It makes you even prettier and less scary looking. Mommy says that being pretty isn't everything, though." I had to smile at the fact that even though she kept praising Edward for some of his good attributes that she found, she had to put him in his place a little. "You need to be nice, honest, loyal, and I like good cooks too." Abigail reached out and grabbed one of Edward's hands, frowning when she felt how cold it was. "I'll get you my blankie, too. That way you won't get sick." Edward looked kind of dumstruck as followed Abigail into the house. I couldn't help but smile again, Abigail had that kind of effect on most people.

I was still cautious, though as I watched my daughter poke and prod at Edward until he was positioned just the way she wanted him in the living room on the floor. And although Edward hadn't shown any signs of aggression and he said he wouldn't hurt either of us, I waited with baited breath, hoping that he wasn't a sleeping dog. I'd found that the saying "let sleeping dogs lie" proved true often enough.

Abigail left the room and returned only a minute later with her brush and blankie in hand. She carefully arranged her quilt so that Edward's shoulders and hands were covered and then she moved to grab her brush and get to work.

I watched closely as my daughter chatted incessantly while she attempted to tame a particularly stubborn lock of hair, frowning angrily when it stood straight back up. "Stay here," she ordered Edward, and ran into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Sticking one of her hands in the water, she then patted Edward's stubborn hair into submission, a look of complete concentration on her face.

Somewhat satisfied that Edward wouldn't try anything, I turned back to Alice who was watching the scene with an inquiring gaze. But she turned back to me after I'd been looking at her for a minute. She smiled sweetly at me and then held out her hand for me to take. Alice led me into the kitchen and I made sure to take a seat at the table where I could still see Abigail fussing over Edward in the living room.

"How've you been?" Alice questioned quietly. "How long have you been on your own?"

"We've been fine," I responded curtly. "It's been two months today." Alice's expression was laced with concern and worry and she placed a hand on top of mine, offering silent support.

"How'd you do it? Your blood lust? Supporting yourself? Going in to town? You're ex-husband? Getting Abigail? All of it," she sounded exasperated and baffled at the notion of me leaving, so I explained all of it to her without leaving any details out.

Just as I finished talking to Alice, Abigail called my name. Looking to my daughter, I couldn't help but smile at the happy and carefree look upon her face. "I finished with Mr. Edword's hair, Mommy. Doesn't it look pretty?" My gaze dropped from Abigail's face to Edward's and I couldn't help but giggle. Apparently all of Edward's hair had decided to be stubborn at some point in time so my daughter just ended up pouring the entire glass of water onto his head to tame it enough before she started brushing it. Or at least that's what it looked like.

The curious thing was, though, that Edward didn't even seem perturbed that he was being subjugated to a little girl's whims. He almost looked content. It was the complete opposite of how he'd been before he and Alice left. In fact, now that I was looking closer, he seemed almost calmer and more relaxed. I guess that their "vacation" had worked.

I was just about to comment on Abigail's good job when the front door was thrown open and Jasper's distraught face greeted my own.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**Jasper's POV**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**Story Recommendations:**

** Faith by: SpicySugar (Harry Potter/Complete)**

** Eros & Psyche by: RZZMG (Harry Potter/Work in Progress)**

**Joke: How do you get a tissue to dance?**

** Put a little boogie in it.**

My mate. She was standing right in front of me. Finally. Two months. I'd been two months since I'd seen her and the memories I had of her didn't serve her justice. Having been without her for so long, I had to take in every little detail about her features, committing them to memory for good this time so that I would always have her with me. Internally I frowned. After running away from me like that I might be less lenient on letting her out of my sight. I'd have to keep a close eye on her when I took her home so that she wouldn't have a chance to run again. I wouldn't hold her hostage, but I would do everything in my power to make sure that I also provided her with whatever she wanted. Then she'd be more inclined to stay with me forever. So that we could love each other, be with each other, and care for each other for the rest of our lives.

I loved my mate. My love. My Bella. My beautiful beauty. I just hoped that she just hadn't refused me as a mate and decided to leave, because there was a difference. A _very_ big difference. And from the way she was looking at me now, I was inclined to guess that she'd missed me just as much as I'd missed her and she'd just left because she needed some time to herself.

"Bella," I croaked out, and ran to my girl, grabbing her in my arms and burying my face in her hair as I ignored everyone else in the room. Her sweet floral scent overwhelmed my senses, but I welcomed it with open arms. I was convinced that there wasn't a better feeling than feeling my girl's body against mine. And the best part was, was that she wasn't pulling away from me or kicking my ass. She wasn't hugging me back either, though. Bella was as stiff as a board and I could feel her anxiety and confusion.

I unwrapped my arms from around and pulled away, still making sure that our bodies were still touching, though. I couldn't bear to be separated from her now that I had just gotten her back. I placed my hands on either side of her face and gently ran my thumbs over her cheeks, still not believing that I was actually holding her after all this time.

Bella's eyes changed and her expression became determined, but for what I didn't know. That is until she started to struggle out of my grasp. "Let go of me you bastard! I want you to leave!" She continued to struggle and her daughter, Abigail, rushed forward when she heard her mother's distress.

"Don't hurt my Mommy! Leave my Mommy alone! Don't hit her! Don't be like the mean man." Abigail screamed as shouted as tears started running down her face. But I didn't pay any attention to her, all my focus was on keeping Bella subdued in my arms. Before Abigail reached us, though, because Edward picked her up in his arms and cradled her tear-stained face into his shoulder as he cooed to her and walked out of the room with Alice quickly following behind him, leaving me and Bella alone.

"Please," she begged. "Let my daughter and I go. Let us be. I just want to give her the life that I didn't have. I don't want her to be without a mother anymore. I can't. Let me take her and you'll never hear from us again. I swear it. Just… please – let us go. I'm begging you. You don't even want me as a mate. Why make us suffer needlessly. You can find someone else. You can be happy. And I can be happy with my daughter somewhere else. I just want to go."

Hearing my Bella beg and plead was breaking my heart. Seeing my Bella's eyes filled with such sadness and her lips quivering was breaking my heart. Sensing my Bella's fear and terror – of me – was breaking my heart. Feeling my Bella's body shake and tremble in my arms was breaking my heart.

But what probably hurt the most was how Bella pounded her tiny fists on my chest. It wasn't that it hurt, but that Bella was trying to get away from me. That she _wanted_ to get away from me.

"Oh Bella," I whispered, and rested my forehead on hers, wondering what made her think that I didn't want her. I kneeled down scooped her up into my arms and carried her over to the couch where I proceeded to sit and place her on my lap as sobs racked through her body.

"Bella. My Bella," I continued whispering in her ear, wondering what brought on this. Wondering what I did to make Bella think that I didn't want her. "Please, let me explain, Bella. There has to be a misunderstanding. Something had to be lost in translation. I want you, Bella. I love you. Please, let me explain. Let me help you understand. Help _me_ understand where you're coming from. I love you, baby. So much. I don't want to lose you. I'm begging you, Bella. Give me this chance, and if you still don't believe me afterwards or if you don't want to see me ever again then I'll leave you alone. You'll never hear from me again." That last part was a total lie, I wouldn't ever give her up willingly, but she didn't have to know that. Because I was confident that we could work this out. We were meant to be together.

"Mommy!" Abigail shouted out and came running back into the room. Bella shot up out of my lap, despite my attempts to hold her in my lap. Bella collected her daughter in her arms and held a sobbing Abigail close to her, trying to reassure her that everything would be okay as Edward and Alice entered the room. "Did the mean man hurt you, Mommy? Did he hit you?" Bella shook her head and smiled sadly. "Mr. Edword will protect us, Mommy. He won't let the mean man hurt us." Abigail turned to me, a scowl on her face. "It's not nice to hit people. Or make them do things they don't want to," she scolded. "I don't like you," she added for good measure before taking Bella's hand and leading her over to Edward.

It made me furious that Bella was turning to someone else for protection. _From me._

But I knew that in order for Bella to ever trust me enough to let me explain, then I'd have to relax and not get upset over everything.

"I'm sure Mr. Edward will protect us, Abigail. But I think we've had enough excitement for the morning. You're tired, baby, I think we should go take a nap and then I'll make you a late lunch after we wake up. How's that sound?"

Abigail sniffled and placed her thumb in her mouth, sucking on it gently. "Can Mr. Edword and Miss. Ali come with us?"

"If they want to, yes."

"Can we make the mean man leave our home, Mommy? I don't like him here."

This was it, the moment of truth.

"No, baby. Mommy needs to talk to him later."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**Bella's POV**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**Story Recommendations:**

** Faith by: SpicySugar (Harry Potter/Completed)**

** Fast and Hard by: courthale (Twilight/Completed)**

"Come on _bebe_, let's go take that nap now. Okay?" Abigail nodded and swiped at her reddened cheeks with the back of her hand. I kneeled in front of her and wiped at her cheeks as well, kissing the trail of tears on either side of her face. I stood back up and held out my hand for Abigail to take. I looked out of the corner of my eye to see Jasper, Alice, and Edward standing off to the side.

"Are you going to come take a nap with us Mr. Edword and Miss Ali?" Abigail asked softly, hiding behind my leg.

"I don't think so, Abigail," Edward responded softly. "But we'll be here when you wake up, I promise," he said at Abigail's look of disappointment.

"Will the mean man still be here when we wake up?" Edward squatted down on his knees so he was face-to-face with Abigail.

"Jasper's not a mean man, Abigail. Remember what I told you?" Abigail nodded once. "What did I tell you?" Edward coaxed her to respond to his question, to see the truth in his words.

"You said that he helpted my Mommy and that he loveses her a lot. But that's what Daddy said too." Abigail choked up and began crying again. "Daddy always said he loved both his pretty girls but then he hurt Mommy. He hurt Mommy bad. My Mommy's nice, she'd never hurt anyone. So no one should hurt her." My heart broke for my baby girl. She thought that Jasper was like Robert. She thought that he was going to be me when she saw me struggling to get out of his hold but he wouldn't let me go. Robert did that a lot. I leaned down to pick my little girl up into my arms but she dropped my hand and threw herself at Edward, crying into his shoulder. Edward stiffened at first, and I was afraid that the sweet and supple skin of her neck right next to his nose and fangs would be too much, but then his features softened and he comforted and soothed Abigail, rubbing a hand up and down her back and petting her hair.

"Abigail," Jasper whispered and took a tentative step in our direction. Edward's hands froze and my _bebe _jerked her face up to meet Jasper's gaze. "I love your mother very much. With all my heart and soul. And I would never, in a million years, hurt her on purpose. Or you. Can you trust me when I say that?"

Abigail looked indecisive, then she said, "never, never, ever, never?" so something about Jasper must've convinced her that he wouldn't hurt me.

"Never, never, ever, never," Jasper agreed.

Abigail was silent as she looked at Jasper, almost as if she was trying to see if he was lying. Then she said, "You don't brush your hair either. Only Miss Alice and Mommy know how to brush their hair. Oh, and me too," she added hastily at the end. Jasper raised an eyebrow and then looked apologetic.

"Perhaps you could help me with that when you wake up?" Abigail stuck her thumb back in her mouth, her eyelids drooping slightly and then she nodded once before she promptly fell asleep on Edward's shoulder.

I was about to lean down to pick her up when Edward stood, careful not to jostle her around too much as he picked her up and cradled her in his arms. "Let me lie with her. You and Jasper should talk." I bit my lower lip, wishing I could prolong our conversation indefinitely, but knowing that it would probably be better if we hashed everything out now. Hesitantly, I nodded and watched as Edward walked down the hall and disappeared into the bedroom. I heard Abigail fuss once in her sleep, but Edward quickly soothed her before he set her on the bed and covered her up with the sheet.

"Bella," Jasper said from right behind me. He must've moved closer while I was paying more attention to Abigail. I turned to face Jasper, unsure of how to take in what I saw. Jasper's eyes were pitch black, his face slightly sunken in, and he had a shabby look to him. His hair was unkept and he looked disheveled in general. "C-can I just hold you? Will you let me hold you for a minute and then we can talk. I think we really need to talk, Bella." I looked to Alice, who stood in the corner of the room, watching the scene unfold in front of her. She nodded her head and made encouraging movements with her hands. I looked back to Jasper and saw pain and fear reflected in his eyes.

"Okay," I assented. Jasper wasted no more time and quickly enfolded me in his arms, burying his face in my hair and breathing in deeply while rubbing a hand up and down my back.

"Come outside with me," Jasper whispered in my ear. "It's beautiful outside and we can talk. Just you and me."

I looked back to the door that I knew Edward and Abigail were behind and started to shake my head no.

"Edward won't hurt her, Bella. I can guarantee you that. Come outside with me, we won't go too far away. Please. Please come with me, Bella. Give me a chance to explain. Give us another chance."

I looked to Jasper, then back to the bedroom door, and finally to Alice who was busying herself with reorganizing my cupboards. "Just for a couple minutes," I relented. Jasper smiled and brought the top of one of my hands up to his mouth as he kissed the top of it before he led me outside and sat beside me on a rock a couple hundred meters from the house.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**Jasper's POV**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**Story Recommendations:**

** Fridays at Noon By: troublefollows1017 (Twilight/Completed)**

** First & Ten By: Nolebucgrl (Twilight/Completed)**

**AN: I'm sorry it's so short, but this is what I have right now. I should have another chapter up soon. This isn't how I thought this story would turn out, but I think there'll only be a couple chapters left, including an epilogue.**

Bella looked anything but at ease with me as she sat straight up like a puppet standing tall for the puppeteer, her muscles were tense and she was nervously playing with her hands. I ached to send her soothing feelings, but I thought that manipulating her emotions might get me into even more trouble when her thoughts and feelings would determine the path our relationship took.

"Why'd you leave?" I almost didn't want to ask the question because I feared the answer. What if she didn't want to be mated to me anymore? What if she wasn't happy with me any longer? What if she had found someone else?

"You made it seem like you didn't want me as a mate anymore. You were ignoring me, wouldn't look at me. We never went to see Abigail together. I thought you blamed me for what happened with Edward. I wasn't going to stay somewhere where I obviously wasn't wanted. I made a promise to myself, to Abigail, that I'd be a good role model for her from now on, a strong and independent woman. And that doesn't include being somebody's doormat again."

"Bella," I breathed out, shocked that she thought I didn't want her. "There's nothing that's farther from the truth. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to love you, make love to you, give you the world. And I _never_ blamed you for what happened with Edward. That was his own doing. In light of what you've said I can see how you might think that I didn't want you anymore, but that is so very, very wrong. I thought that after you had seen Edward at his worst, you'd be afraid of me. Because no matter how frightening Edward is, I've done and seen a lot worse than that." Bella remained silent for a couple minutes after I finished.

"I could never be afraid of you, Jasper." she whispered so quietly I almost missed it. "You showed me your scars and I wasn't afraid. You've been nothing but sweet and kind and unbelievably considerate and accommodating to me. You saved me. How could I be scared of you?"

"So this all could have been avoided if we just talked to each other, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess it could have." she murmured.

"I want you and Abigail to leave with me. Everyone's worried sick over you. We should get back home so they can see that you're okay."

"Home? Jasper, I'm not going to go back to that town ever again. It only holds bad memories for Abigail and I. We've started a new life here. Abigail and I love it, and I don't want to upset Abigail by bouncing her all over the place. I want to give her a _home_. Someplace where she can grow up and when she leaves I want her to know that she can always come back here whenever she needs me."

"Bella, as nice as that sounds, it's impossible for us. People get suspicious if we stay in one place for too long because we don't age. We're constantly moving, finding new places to live, meeting new people, finding new jobs. It's imperative for us not to get too comfortable in one place. I can understand you not wanting to go back there, but you can't stay here forever."

Bella turned her back to me and I felt a strong and sudden change in her emotions. "Bella?" I questioned, worried I had said something that made her upset. "Bella, what's wrong? Did I say something?"

"I'm the world's worst mother. I can't seem to do anything right for my daughter, my _bebe_. I stood there and stayed with Robert while he while he beat and took advantage of me. I can't provide her with a consistent home, and I'm a _vampire_ for heaven's sake! I won't be able to see her off to her first day of school. I won't be able to see her interact with her first crush. I won't be able to-"

"Bella, my sweet Isabella. Look at me." I jumped off my place on the rock and moved to stand in front of her. My hands rested gently under her chin, silently willing her to meet my gaze. Only a few minutes passed before my Bella relented and her sorrow-filled gaze met mine. "You are one of the strongest and most independent women I know. I think you're a great mother and role model for Abigail. Do you know how many women would've left their abusive husband and not had a thought about their child? The first thing you asked about when you woke up from your Change was your daughter. And even though you were a Newborn you fought tooth and nail to see your daughter every night. You are _not_ the world's worst mother, Isabella Whitlock."

Bella nodded. The urge to pull my mate close to me and hug her came over me and I desperately wanted to give in, but I didn't know how Bella would take it. So hesitantly, I moved closer to Bella, giving her a chance to pull away though I dearly hoped it wouldn't come to that. Thankfully, Bella accepted my hug and leaned into me, resting her head on my shoulder.

"Would it be okay if I stayed here with you and Abigail for a while? I want to be there for you two. I want to show you that I absolutely want you as my mate and that I will support you in all your decisions. And I want Abigail to realize that I'm nothing like Robert. I realize how things must have looked to her before and I don't ever want her to think that I'll hurt either of you."

"I think that that'd be alright. But I think that it would be best if you stayed in another room. I think I need a little more time and… I kind of like this freedom." she admitted that last part quietly.

"Whatever makes you comfortable, Bella. I'll do whatever you want me to. Just don't ask me to leave. As cheesy as it sounds, I don't think I'd be able to stay away for very long."

Bella smiled at me and placed her hands on my shoulders. "If we're really going to make this work, we need to make sure that we communicate. Especially where Abigail is involved."

"Of course, Bella." I placed a kiss on her forehead and breathed in her sinfully delicious smell.

"How long do you think Edward and Alice are going to stay?"

I pulled away and laughed. "I'm not sure, beautiful. With the way Abigail has him wrapped around her little finger, I'm sure we can expect him to stay for a while. He sure like has changed a lot, though. I think that vacation they took really helped put things in perspective for him."

"He just better not get any funny ideas about my baby girl."


	22. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**Bella's POV**

Four months had passed since that day in the woods when Jasper, Edward, and Alice found Abigail and me in our house in the woods. Four months of perfect bliss. And it was about to get even better.

For the first time in a month and a half, Jasper and I were going to have the cabin to ourselves while Nana Esme and Auntie Rose watched Abigail for the weekend. Jasper had surprised Abigail and me with the cabin shortly after we returned with him back to the Cullen household. It was close enough to the point where my baby would soon be able to walk back and forth to the houses by herself. Just the thought of my little girl growing up on me made me shudder.

While I loved that she was learning new things every day and experiencing the world around her, I hated the fact that one day she would be old enough to go off by herself and I would be left alone as she made a life for herself. But as I struggled to deal with this revelation, I also knew that being a parent was one of life's most treasured jobs and I wouldn't give it up for anything in the world.

I got out of the bathroom to find Jasper relaxing in his favorite chair in the corner of our room, soaking up the sun and oblivious to everything else around him. Due to his background, Jasper rarely let himself fully relax. He as was always alert, waiting for any sign of danger. In a way, I knew what that was like. In my past I always had to be super cautious and alert for any sign of Robert, knowing that I would never forgive myself if I were to not pay enough attention and Robert were to hurt my Abigail. But those times were in our pasts and I couldn't help but feel elated that both of us had finally got to a point in our lives where we didn't feel the need to constantly look over our shoulder or question the motives of people.

Smiling at the beautiful sight Jasper made, I took a minute to appreciate my mate and his beauty, both inside and out.

I unwrapped my arms from around my waist, letting Jasper's dress shirt fall open around me and shivered, wondering if Jasper would like what he saw. While Jasper and I had both come so far together, there were still times of doubt that we both tried to help each other alleviate. Now was one of those times for me.

Gathering up whatever courage I could get my hands on, I pushed away my nerves and confidently walked to my mate without making a sound. Jasper was so entranced by the sun that he didn't feel my presence until I straddled his lap. Jasper's eyes flew open and they greedily took in my nude body, covered only by his oversized dress shirt. I wiggled around on his lap, trying to get more comfortable and letting out a moan as the fabric of his slacks rubbed deliciously against me.

Though seduction was a foreign concept to me, I couldn't help but gasp in pleasure and smile with victory when I felt Jasper harden under me.

"Isabella," he groaned, and placed his hands, now warm from the sun, on my waist. "Sweet, beautiful Isabella." Jasper lifted his hips into me and I rubbed against him some more, unable to help myself.

"Please, Jasper. I'm tired of waiting. I'm ready. I want you. _Please_." I couldn't help the desperation that filled my voice. For the past four months all of Jasper's sweet kisses and heartfelt words were catching up to me. The evenings we spent making out like teenagers while Abigail slept. He was driving me crazy in the best way possible, but I didn't think I could stand it anymore.

"Yes, oh God yes!" Jasper's mouth latched onto my collarbone, sucking greedily at the skin while my fingers threaded through his hair, trying to bring him impossibly closer to me. There was no way we were going to stop now. Jasper pulled away from me and our mouths latched together again, relentless and hungry. He stood up and I automatically wrapped my legs around his waist, not willing to be separated anymore. Jasper's hands moved over my shoulders and down my arms, but too lost in our passionate embrace, I didn't realize what he was wanting. A rip filled the room and a cool breeze floated across my back and arms.

Jasper tore his shirt off my body.

A shiver of excitement rushed over me. His aggressive action was a surprise, but not an unpleasant one because it showed that he was just as eager to be with me as I was to be with him. Jasper walked us over to our bed and laid me down in the center. Esme had decorated our home for us and Alice had insisted on a bed despite my protests since I knew that we wouldn't be sleeping in it and it would just sit there collecting dust. Now I was couldn't be happier that I had heeded to Alice's advice and I swore to myself that I would do so more often and buy her a new dress as thanks.

"Beautiful Bella," he whispered reverently and started at my body spread out for him. He climbed onto the bed, crawling over me on his hands and knees, our eyes never leaving each other. Bringing my hands up to his chest I pulled lightly on his shirt and pulled him down closer to me, pressing my mouth to his in a softer kiss. My nimble fingers tried to work on unbuttoning his shirt, but Jasper's hands came up to cover my own, pausing my ministrations. Unhooking my fingers from the second button, which wouldn't relent and remained buttoned, Jasper placed my hands on my stomach. He sat up and ripped the shirt off his back, throwing it off the bed.

"If we keep this up, you won't have any more shirts," I teased, breaking from Jasper's delectable mouth.

"I don't care," he insisted, and claimed my mouth again, letting his hands roam up my sides to cup my breasts. I arched into him, loving the feel of his hands on my body. I ran my hands down his back, over his scars, until they reached the edge of his slacks.

"Pants, Jasper. Off!" I demanded and panted for unnecessary breaths. With a frustrated growl, Jasper lifted himself off me and hurriedly unbuttoned his slacks and shook them off, sending them off to a far corner of the room.

"Nothing else will keep me from you," Jasper swore as he repositioned himself over me. I nodded in agreement, wrapping my legs around his waist tightly, unwilling to let my mate go. Jasper kissed my forehead and moved down my face, making stops at both eyelids and cheeks, but bypassing my lips, trailing down my neck and stopping at the tops of my breasts. "So beautiful." His words, so simple, but so strong. I could feel his emotions leaking onto me, filling me from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

"I love you, Jasper. With every fiber of my being, I love you." Jasper froze over me and slowly raised his head and looked me in the eye. "I promise to love you forever, if you'll have me." He just continued to stare at me and I couldn't help but feel more and more insecure the longer it took him to respond.

"Yes, I'll have you forever." Jasper didn't waste any more time because the next thing I knew he was thrusting into me, making me feel fuller than I had in a very long time. "I love you too, Bella. So much." Jasper pulled back out of me and thrust forward again and again, making me oblivious to everything else around me.

"Jasper," I whispered in his ear, loving how he made me feel. Loving that he was the only one who could make me feel this way. Love and cherished for the rest of my life. Jasper's emotions bleed into me, making us one. His love working its way over my body, bringing me closer to the edge. "Please, I'm close Jasper. So close. Just a little more. Come with me." Jasper buried his face in the crook of my shoulder and neck and pulled out again, this time waiting a minute before entering. But when he did thrust back into my body, I couldn't help but shudder under him. "Yes, Jasper. Yes! So close. So close, baby!"

"God, Bella. My Bella. So tight around me. So close!" With one final thrust, Jasper pushed me over the edge. I screamed from the high he sent me on, my eyes closing on their own accord. My muscles clenched around Jasper and he quickly followed me into perfect bliss.

Jasper and I stayed like that for a while after we came down from our high, just enjoying each other's presence. "Thank you," I whispered in Jasper's ear, a shiver rolling down his spine.

"No need to thank me, my beautiful Bella. Just stay with me."

"Forever," I promised.

"Forever," he agreed.

**Well, this isn't exactly how I thought this story would end, but this is where it took me. I hope you all enjoyed it and there will be more to come. For those of you that read IWNLYL, there will be an update on that tonight as well and maybe even one tomorrow, depending on how fast I can type it out. I am also looking at having a new Harry Potter story up sometime tomorrow, I have the first six chapters written, I just need to type them up and edit a bit, so stay tuned for that. On another note, I am looking for a beta who'd be willing to read Harry Potter and Twilight rated M fics, mainly non-cannon pairings, but some cannon as well. Leave me a message/**


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